Yitzhak Molcho, Amos Gilad lead Israel’s ceasefire efforts

A trusted associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a high-ranking defense official are leading Israel’s delegation to Cairo for ceasefire talks with Palestinian factions, according to Israeli media reports.

Yitzhak Molcho, Netanyahu’s close aide, was a member of Israel’s negotiation team during recent failed peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. Amos Gilad is the director of policy and political-military affairs at Ministry of Defense. Both have been in Cairo for previous ceasefire discussions.

The delegation arrived in Cairo Tuesday evening. It will not be holding direct negotiations with the Palestinian party — which includes members of Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad and others — but will be transferring messages back and forth through Egyptian mediators.

A senior diplomatic official tells Walla News that Israel believes Hamas has come to the talks battered and weakened by the lengthy conflict.

Hamas “has essentially conceded its [demand for] guarantees and preconditions,” the official said. “Hamas is having a difficult time explaining to its supporters why it has accepted the Egyptian initiative which it resoundingly rejected three weeks ago,” with Gaza now having sustained heavy damage and around 1,800 Palestinians killed.

“Hamas wanted Turkish or Qatari mediation under US approval, but eventually found itself in Cairo, in a delegation led by a Palestinian Authority representative,” he noted, meanwhile losing “its tunnel network and the effectiveness of [its] rocket array.”