Egypt & Qatar continue attempts to revive ceasefire talks with Hamas amid looming Israeli Gaza offensive

Egypt and Qatar are working on a new draft proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Hamas and Israel, expecting to complete a draft next week, according to media reports.

As part of the effort, a delegation of Hamas officials will travel to Egypt on Monday to discuss the new proposal with mediators, the Qatari news outlet al-Araby al-Jadeed reported.

The outlet said Khalil al-Hayya, the terror group’s nominal leader in Gaza, will join the delegation.

The report follows last week’s declaration by the Israeli government that the IDF would soon capture the remainder of the Gaza Strip. Israeli media said residents of Gaza City would be ordered to evacuate by Oct. 7, in a symbolic move.

Despite the dramatic announcement and the ensuing storm of international criticism, the Israeli Cabinet’s decision, in effect, gave Hamas another ultimatum – creating a two-month time window that enables ceasefire negotiations to restart after Hamas torpedoed them two weeks ago.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reiterated Cairo’s strong opposition to an Israeli expansion of military operations in Gaza on Sunday, warning that the move is “very dangerous” and would lead to “escalation and instability” in Gaza.

A well-informed source told al-Araby al-Jadeed that negotiation channels between the Egyptian government and Hamas were re-established with Turkish mediation, following the visit of senior Hamas officials to Ankara last week.

Over the weekend, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani to discuss the negotiations.

However, Axios reported that the United States is no longer interested in partial deals, preferring an “all-or-nothing” approach to the talks. Qatar and the U.S. are now working on a comprehensive proposal to end the war.

An Israeli official cautioned that while Israel and the U.S. are on the same page regarding a potential comprehensive agreement, “The gap between Israel and Hamas regarding ending the war is huge, so talking of a comprehensive deal is likely to be pointless at this stage.”

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Al Jazeera that disarming Hamas would not even be discussed, claiming that no commander of any “Palestinian resistance factions” would agree to it.

Naim further stated that Hamas’ maximum offer would require a guaranteed end to the war, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, the reopening of border crossings, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Given these conditions, Hamas could agree to a ceasefire lasting five to seven years. During this time, political negotiations would begin, focusing on the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

“This is the maximum the resistance factions can offer,” Naim said, “but the factions cannot and will not agree to disarm.”