mediators were making intensive efforts to overcome obstacles impeding indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Doha regarding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
This came according to what Cairo News Channel reported, citing unnamed sources, as negotiations regarding the agreement have been ongoing in Doha for about a week.
According to the same sources, "Egyptian Intelligence Chief Hassan Rashad held a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as part of Egyptian efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza," without specifying the date or location. Major General Hassan Rashad also held "intensive meetings with negotiating delegations from both the Palestinian and Israeli sides," according to the same source.
"The Egyptian contacts aim to advance current efforts to achieve a ceasefire and overcome the obstacles hindering an agreement in Gaza," the same sources revealed. "Egypt and Qatar agree on the importance of reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, allowing the entry of aid, and releasing (Palestinian) prisoners and (Israeli) detainees."
She noted that "Egyptian, Qatari, and US mediators are intensifying their contacts and meetings with all parties to advance efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza."
Netanyahu's readiness to withdraw
In contrast, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted unnamed political sources who attended the Israeli security cabinet meeting on Sunday evening, saying that "Netanyahu expressed a more flexible position than previously in the context of efforts to reach a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas."
She added, "According to the sources, Netanyahu expressed his willingness to consider withdrawing from the Morag axis separating the cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah, an item he had previously refused to discuss."
According to the authority, "estimates indicate that the ongoing negotiations in Doha between mediators and the concerned parties are focusing on updated maps of the areas to be covered by the understandings, and officials expect that the deal may require a few more days before it is finalized."
For its part, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the meeting, that "Netanyahu is determined to reach a ceasefire and prisoner release agreement with Hamas, and is showing new flexibility regarding the withdrawal from the Morag corridor."
An unnamed Israeli source was quoted as saying, "If an agreement is reached, there will be no humanitarian city in Rafah under the current circumstances, because no humanitarian zone will be preserved." He added, "Netanyahu is prepared to concede on issues he previously held onto," according to the source. However, the Broadcasting Authority indicated that the meeting discussed the proposal to establish a tent camp in Rafah.
The committee said that during the session, "military estimates" were presented indicating that establishing a detention camp for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Rafah "could take more than a year" at a cost of $10-15 billion. It added that this "furiously angered Netanyahu, who described the plan as unrealistic and demanded a shorter, cheaper, and more practical alternative plan," he said.
"crazy idea"
For his part, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid described the idea of establishing a detention camp in Rafah, which Tel Aviv intends to establish under the name "Humanitarian City," as "crazy and will not happen."
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich want to build what they call a humanitarian city in Gaza. This city will not be built in Gaza, it will not happen,” Lapid said in a video post on the X platform. “It is a crazy idea even from the perspective of this government, but we know their behavior. They will spend billions before they admit their failure.”
Lapid continued, speaking about the government: "They never stop wasting Israeli taxpayers' money on various bizarre fantasies. They fund draft evasion, they fund corruption, and now they want to fund imaginary cities that will never be built."
Last week, Defense Minister Katz unveiled the outlines of a new plan to establish a detention camp he called a "humanitarian city" made up of tents on the ruins of Rafah. The plan includes transferring 600,000 Palestinians to the camp in an initial phase after undergoing strict security screening. They will not be allowed to leave later.
The planned detention camp in Rafah is reminiscent of the infamous Nazi concentration camps of the 1940s. Tel Aviv is using it to detain and starve Palestinians to force them to emigrate abroad, according to international observers and Hebrew media outlets, including Haaretz.
This comes as Israel, with US support, has been waging genocidal crimes in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including murder, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement. These crimes have left more than 196,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced.
