CIA Director, US National Security Council Coordinator in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks

CAIRO – 24 August 2024: CIA Director William Burns and National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk traveled to Cairo on Friday to participate in negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, the Washington Examiner reported.

“There has been progress made. We need now for both sides to come together and work towards implementation,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was quoted as saying by AFP.

“The preliminary talks that we had going into Cairo last night were constructive in nature. So we want to see that same sort of momentum continue here over the next couple of days,” he continued.

Media reported that Cairo has been hosting extensive discussions on Friday and Saturday to prepare for a new round of indirect talks on Sunday to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a prisoner swap deal after Doha negotiations failed last week.

Yesterday, an Israeli delegation left Cairo after its members handed over Egypt maps of proposed stationing of Israeli soldiers along the Philadelphi Corridor between Egypt and the besieged Gaza Strip, BBC reported on Saturday.

A delegation from Hamas is scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Saturday evening to be briefed on the ongoing negotiations and be updated on the introduced maps by the Israeli side, said Hamas member Izzat Al-Rishq in a statement on Saturday.

The Hamas delegation will be led by its member Khalil Al-Hayya will arrive in Cairo, at the invitation of the mediators in Egypt and Qatar, to listen to the results of the negotiations that took place in Cairo, Rishq added.

Rishq continued that Hamas confirms its commitment to what it agreed to on July 2, based on the Biden Declaration and the Security Council resolution.

Last week in Doha, mediators from the United States submitted an Egyptian-Qatari backed proposal aimed at bridging remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas, with ongoing technical work to refine implementation details, focusing on humanitarian provisions, captive releases, and prisoner-related specifics.

Israel has increased its demands for a ceasefire, threatening to disrupt potential agreements by insisting on maintaining a military presence in the Philadelphi corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border and the Netzarim corridor dividing northern Gaza from the south.

Egypt has consistently insisted on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi corridor.

Coordination with Israel for aid delivery via the Rafah crossing has been rebuffed by Egypt since Israeli forces assumed control over the Palestinian side of the crossing on May 7, resulting in aid blockades.

Meanwhile, Israel has killed a total of 40,334 Palestinians and injured 93,356 others in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, according to the daily statistical report from the Palestinian Ministry of Health’s branch in Gaza on Saturday.

The Israeli occupation committed 5 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip during the past 48 hours, killing 69 martyrs and injuring 212 others, whom were admitted to hospitals.

A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them, the statement added.