Report: Egypt tells US not to underestimate Hamas’s remaining military capabilities in Gaza, attacks on Israel still possible

Egypt told US interlocutors in conversations this week that Washington should not underestimate Hamas’s “military capabilities that still exist within the Gaza Strip despite the war,” and that attacks against Israel could still take place from Gaza, Egyptian officials tell the Lebanese Al-Akhbar daily.

The Egyptian officials also tell the US that Hamas disarmament “is linked to the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Furthermore, the officials say Hamas will not disarm unless it has firm guarantees that Israel will not violate any potential agreement and resume strikes on Hamas, the officials say.

To this end, Egypt and Qatar are warning the US in meetings that Israel is trying to impose realities on the ground in Gaza, including expanding the width of the buffer zone, according to the report.

Egypt has been stressing “the Palestinians’ full commitment to the terms of the agreement and their pledge not to obstruct it, despite Israel’s lack of flexibility in dealing with the fighters stranded in areas still under occupation, and its continued obstruction of the Rafah Crossing, which was supposed to operate in both directions according to the agreement—a commitment Israel has thus far failed to uphold,” Egyptian sources tell the newspaper.

Egypt is pushing a proposal for Gaza that features a Palestinian security force, international peacekeepers, and the full reconstruction of Gaza City that will be carried out in parallel to the demilitarization of Gaza.