Egypt launched an urgent diplomatic effort this week to prevent the collapse of a Gaza ceasefire agreement, warning Israel against expanding its occupation and reaching out directly to Hamas for emergency talks.
According to Al Jazeera, an Egyptian intelligence official said Cairo invited a senior Hamas delegation, led by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, for urgent meetings aimed at salvaging the peace process. The source described contacts between the parties as intense and said Egypt was racing to arrange negotiations before the end of the week to prevent all-out war.
The push came after at least 141 Palestinians were killed in a two-week intensification of Israeli military strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a directive Thursday ordering the military to expand the area under its control from 53% to 70% of Gaza. Mediators say that move fundamentally violates the U.S.-brokered comprehensive peace plan signed in October 2025 under the Trump administration.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz added to the crisis by publicly reviving a plan for what he described as the voluntary migration of Palestinians out of Gaza. Speaking during an announcement confirming the assassination of Hamas's newly appointed military chief, Mohammed Odeh, Katz said the displacement scheme would be implemented "at the right time and in the right manner."
Egypt sent a formal warning to Israel rejecting any measures designed to push Gaza residents toward emigration or direct Palestinians toward the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Cairo also reached out to the United States, asking President Trump to personally restrain Netanyahu given the recent Israeli escalations.
Egypt has been coordinating its efforts with mediators in Qatar and Turkiye, as well as U.S. officials, seeking revisions to the addendum of the original Gaza peace plan meant to reduce violence. The Egyptian source told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu's recent moves, including the killings of Hamas military figures Izz al-Din al-Haddad and Mohammed Odeh, were driven by electoral calculations and complicated by difficulties Netanyahu faces in Lebanon.
The ceasefire deal, brokered with significant American involvement, now faces its most serious test since it was signed.
