Egypt Responds to Accusations of Altering Gaza Cease-Fire Negotiation

Egypt has threatened to withdraw from its role as a mediator in the Gaza hostage deal and cease-fire agreement negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The warning comes in response to accusations that Egypt altered the terms of the cease-fire agreement without informing other involved parties, including Israel.

Head of Egypt’s State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, issued the warning in a statement on Wednesday via social media.

He said, “Attempts to cast doubt and offend Egypt’s mediation efforts will only lead to further complications of the situation in Gaza and the entire region and may push Egypt to completely withdraw from its mediation in the current conflict.”

According to Rashwan, Egypt’s involvement as a mediator was initiated at the repeated requests and insistence of Israel and the US.

He emphasized that recent accusations from various parties aimed at Egyptian and Qatari mediators are detrimental to the peace process and have unfairly cast a shadow over their neutrality and effectiveness.

A recent report had alleged that the deputy head of Egyptian intelligence, Ahmed Abdel Khalek, had altered details of the latest hostage agreement. These changes, were allegedly communicated to Hamas without the knowledge of Israel or other mediators.

The initial agreement announced by Hamas on May 6, reportedly matched the terms discussed by Qatari and American officials. However, it was revealed that additional demands from Hamas, which were not part of the original discussions disclosed to Israel or other stakeholders were included in the agreement.

Egypt’s threat is similar to a stance taken by Qatar last month, when its prime minister announced a review of its mediation role following criticism from Israel. Despite the tension, Qatar has not withdrawn from the negotiations, and it appears unlikely that Cairo will take such a step either.