Delegations from Egypt, the US, Qatar and Israel are expected to meet tomorrow in Rome to explore the possibility of declaring a truce in the war in the Gaza Strip, a senior official was quoted as saying by Egypt’s Al-Cahra news agency.
“A meeting between Egyptian officials, their US and Qatari counterparts, attended by the head of Israeli intelligence, will be held in Rome on Sunday to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza,” the source said.
Cairo insists on “the need” for the agreement to guarantee an “immediate ceasefire” and “the entry of humanitarian aid”, as well as “guaranteeing freedom of movement for Gaza citizens” and “the complete withdrawal (including of Israeli armed forces) from the Rafah crossing point”, on Egypt’s border with the Palestinian enclave, according to the same source.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been brokering indirect, so far fruitless, negotiations for months to declare a truce between Israel and Hamas, which would be accompanied by the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of Palestinians held in Israeli detention centers.
Tomorrow’s appointment comes as tensions between Israel and the United States appear to be rising again as Washington presses its ally for a truce deal in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated after more than nine months of war.
This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech to the US Congress, before meeting separately with President Joe Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris, now the Democratic candidate for US president in the November election, hinted at a major shift in US policy on Gaza, promising that will not remain “silent” about the suffering of civilians, while insisting that a peace agreement should be concluded as soon as possible.