Report: Egypt pressuring Hamas to accept 1st phase of hostage-ceasefire deal without amendments

Cairo is pressuring Hamas to accept the first phase of the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal without amendments, an Egyptian source tells the Qatar-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper.

Last week, the terror group submitted its formal response to the hostage release-ceasefire proposal that US President Joe Biden said had been proposed by Israel, and declared that it had made “amendments” to the offer, which Israel deemed to be drastic changes that made the deal unacceptable. Mediators Egypt and Qatar have pledged to continue their efforts until a deal is reached.

According to the Egyptian source quoted by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Cairo and Washington have been exerting intensive pressure on the Hamas leadership over the past days to agree to the first phase of the deal.

In addition, Hezbollah urges Hamas to “deal flexibly” with the proposal and to “be patient” and not close the door to ongoing negotiations, diplomatic sources told the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat daily on Saturday.

The report, first cited by the Kan public broadcaster, says the Hezbollah position is based on the assumption that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not really stand behind the offer.