Israel will only agree to ceasefire with ‘no strings attached’ — Egyptian official

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

A plume of smoke rises above a building after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on May 13, 2023, amid fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)
A plume of smoke rises above a building after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on May 13, 2023, amid fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)

Israel will not sign a ceasefire agreement that includes any conditions beyond the IDF holding its fire, a senior Egyptian official familiar with the negotiations between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad tells The Times of Israel.

PIJ has pushed for Israel to release the body of its senior member Khader Adnan, who died earlier this month after hunger striking in protest of his detention in Israel without charge. Islamic Jihad has also demanded that Israel commit to halting assassinations of its leaders, the Egyptian official says, adding that Israel has refused the inclusion of either demand in a ceasefire deal.

“[They’re] only willing to cease firing if the other side does too. No strings attached,” the official says.

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