Egypt in contacts with parties to quickly begin 4-day truce between Hamas, Israel

CAIRO - 23 November 2023: An Egyptian senior official told Al Qahera News that Egypt is holding contacts with all parties to agree on the executive procedures for the Egyptian/Qatari-brokered truce between Hamas and Israel.

He added that Egypt, Qatar, and the United States are conducting talks and communications to quickly begin the 4-day truce between Hamas and Israel, noting that time to make the truce come into force will be determined within the coming hours.

A Palestinian source has said that the delay in the truce in Gaza is caused by the mechanism for handing over Israeli captives.

Hamas and Israel made a truce and hostage exchange deal in the early hours of Wednesday as the former will release 50 Israeli women and children aged below 19, while the latter will release 150 Palestinian women and children aged below 19, who were detained in Israeli prisons.

The truce deal provides that both the Israelis and the Palestinians will stop military actions; the Israelis will suspend military operations in entire Gaza; the Israelis will not move any vehicles in Gaza; and aviation will be suspended in Southern Gaza completely and in Northern Gaza from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The deal also includes the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian, relief, medical, and fuel aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip, without exception, north and south. Further, Israel commits to not harming or arresting anyone in all areas of the Gaza Strip, and guarantees the freedom of movement of people (from north to south) along Salahuddin Street.

President Abdel Fattah al Sisi welcomed Wednesday the truce agreement announced in Gaza Strip.

“I would like to welcome to the success of the Egyptian-Qatari-American mediation in reaching an agreement to implement a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of detainees by both sides,” Sisi wrote on his X account.

The president confirmed “the continuation of the Egyptian efforts aimed at reaching final and sustainable solutions that achieve justice, establish peace, and guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”