Netanyahu denies jetting to Cairo as reports of Gaza deal progress boost hopes

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied a report that the Israeli leader was flying to Cairo on Tuesday for talks on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, after the claim briefly sparked excitement at the idea that an end to the 438-day-old hostage crisis and war could be nigh.

Reports in the media have swirled in recent days, as increasingly optimistic-sounding sources in Israel and the Arab world have signaled that Jerusalem and the Hamas terror group are on the brink of inking a deal to halt fighting and begin freeing the 100 people taken from Israel who have been held captive in the Strip since October 7, 2023, or longer.

Citing sources with knowledge of intensive talks said to be taking place in Egypt, Reuters reported on Tuesday that Netanyahu was on his way to Cairo, with observers seeing the high-level addition to the talks as a sign that they could be nearing finalization.

However, Netanyahu’s spokesman Omer Dostri told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu was neither in Cairo nor on his way there.

Two Egyptian security sources also said that Netanyahu was not in Cairo “at this moment,” but that a meeting was underway to work through remaining points, chief among them a Hamas demand for guarantees that any short-term deal lead to a comprehensive agreement later.

They said progress was being made and felt that Tuesday night could be decisive in setting the next steps.

Also boosting optimism were reports in the Hebrew press indicating that Egypt had sent an official summons for Hamas’s leadership to travel to Cairo.

Qatar’s al-Araby al-Jadeed reported Tuesday that a Hamas delegation was expected in Cairo by Thursday to provide information about “the fate of a number of hostages” and evidence that they are still alive.

According to other Arab reports, the delegation will be led by senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya.

Lebanon’s pro-Hezbollah Al Mayadeen news station reported that Egypt also invited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “for an urgent visit.”

The US administration, joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, have made intensive efforts in recent days to advance the talks before President Joe Biden leaves office next month.

Sources briefed on the talks taking place in Cairo said Tuesday that the negotiations were advancing and a deal could be inked within days. A Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts said negotiations were serious, with discussions under way about every word.

But officials in Israel and the US also tempered those expectations, cautioning that the sides had come close before and work remained to be done.

“We believe — and the Israelis have said this — that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with Fox News.

“We’ve been in this position before where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line,” he said.

An unnamed Israeli official said the sides were working intensively, but serious issues remained.

“Hamas has the will to get to a deal. There’s a change for the better, but there’s no final agreement. There are still substantial gaps,” the source was quoted as saying. “It will take time.”

Some in Israel had speculated there could be major moves Tuesday after Netanyahu was granted the day off from testifying in his criminal trial. The decision to delay the testimony was attributed by the court to “special circumstances,” following a closed-door meeting between Netanyahu’s defense team and the judges in the case.

Following the report that Netanyahu was en route to Cairo, his office put out a statement announcing that the premier had actually spent time on Tuesday on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, where he toured the peak of Mount Hermon, which had been taken by soldiers days earlier, following the fall of the Bashar Assad regime.

Hamas asserted on Tuesday that a ceasefire deal in Gaza is possible if Israel “stops setting new conditions,” according to a statement.

Despite months of negotiations and heavy international pressure, Israel and the terror group have failed to come to terms since a week-long truce in November 2023 saw 105 civilian hostages freed.

Israel believes nearly 100 hostages kidnapped on October 7 remain in Gaza, many of them no longer alive.

Hamas is demanding a permanent end to the war along with the withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza, while Israel is seeking a temporary pause, during which some of the hostages would be released, followed by a resumption of its fighting in order to finish dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.

Israel has sought the release of at least 33 hostages during this phase, while Hamas has maintained that it does not have that number of living captives who fall into the “humanitarian” categories of women, elderly, and sick captives, an Israeli official said.

In Tel Aviv, relatives of hostages and others spoke out against the prospect of a phased deal, which could fall apart before all hostages are let go.

“A partial deal isn’t a partial victory — it is a complete moral and ethical defeat that will leave Israeli society with a bleeding wound that will consume it from within,” said former hostage Meirav Tal. The body of her partner, Yair Yaakov, is still being held in Gaza.

According to London-based Asharq Al-Awsat, the deal coming together could take place in three stages, with the weakest and most infirm hostages released first in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. A second phase would see the remaining Israelis, most of them soldiers, released for between 100-150 hardened terrorists serving long sentences in Israeli prisons, and a full IDF withdrawal from the Strip. The war would officially end with the third stage.

On Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly told Knesset lawmakers in a closed-door meeting that Israel was “closer than ever to another hostage deal.”

US President-elect Donald Trump has insisted that a deal be implemented by the time he takes office.

At a press conference in Florida Monday, Trump reiterated his threat that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas does not release its hostages by his January 20 inauguration. Later, Trump said that if no ceasefire deal is reached by the time he takes office, “It’s not going to be pleasant.” He did not elaborate.

The hostages, originally 251 people, were taken captive during Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel, during which some 1,200 people were killed.

It is believed that 96 people abducted that day remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, 2023, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages were rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages were also recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Jacob Magid and Gianluca Pacchiani contributed to this report.