Egypt proposes a 2-day Gaza cease-fire and release of 4 hostages

Egypt has proposed a two-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas during which four hostages held in Gaza would be freed.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, speaking in Cairo on Sunday, said the proposal also includes the release of some Palestinian prisoners and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

Egypt has been a key mediator along with Qatar and the United States. This is the first time Egypt’s president has publicly proposed such a plan. There was no immediate response from Israel or Hamas.

El-Sissi said the proposal aims to “move the situation forward,” adding that once the two-day cease-fire goes into effect, negotiations would continue to make it permanent.

There hasn’t been a cease-fire in 11 months, since November’s weeklong pause in fighting in which 105 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Mossad chief travelled to Doha on Sunday for talks with the prime minister of Qatar and the CIA chief.

During a government memorial Sunday for the Hebrew anniversary of the 7 October attack, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that “not every goal can be achieved through military operations.” He added that “painful compromises will be required” to return the hostages.

Egypt’s proposal came a day after Israeli strikes on Iran in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month. Iran’s supreme leader said the attack “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for retaliation. It was Israel’s first open attack on its archenemy.

That exchange of fire has raised fears of an all-out regional war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran and its militant proxies, which include Hamas and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion earlier this month after nearly a year of lower-level conflict sparked by the war in Gaza.