US President Donald Trump realises that Israel is “illogically” upping its demands in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, an Egyptian official has said.
“The mediators are aware of these aspects. We are now in the real stages, and Trump knows the negotiations are difficult and that the Israeli side is raising its demands to a point that may seem illogical,” Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS), told Al-Qahera News channel on Monday night. He added that Trump has given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enough opportunities to release hostages held in Gaza.
“Now time has almost run out,” he added. “I don’t think President Trump has much patience to arrive in a region [next month] where a war is raging.”
On Monday, Egyptian media said that Egypt sent an Israeli proposal to Hamas for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the start of talks to secure a permanent truce.
“I think the [Hamas] response to the Israeli proposal will be quick,” said Rashwan. “There will be things the mediators can do, and their efforts have not ceased.”
Hamas has confirmed repeatedly that it is open to proposals that ensure a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a serious prisoner exchange deal. It is said to be studying the latest Israeli proposal.
Israel estimates that 59 hostages remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are still alive, while more than 9,500 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, facing torture, starvation and medical neglect that have led to numerous deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Israeli media reported progress on Monday towards a potential deal with Hamas backed by US guarantees, but previous prisoner swap talks have frequently stalled due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to end Israel’s destructive war against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Egypt, alongside Qatar and the US, brokered a phased ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in January, which Israel later violated by unilaterally resuming the war on 18 March.
Netanyahu abandoned the second phase of the deal under pressure from his government’s far-right faction, according to Israeli media reports.
At least 51,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.
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