Egypt has received an Israeli proposal for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza aimed at opening the door to talks for a permanent end to the conflict, state-affiliated media reported Monday.
"Egypt has passed on the Israeli proposal to Hamas and is awaiting its response as soon as possible," sources told Egypt's Al-Qahera News, without giving further details about the proposal.
There have been no comments on the report from Egyptian, Israeli, or Hamas authorities as of yet.
The development follows Hamas's announcement on Saturday that a delegation, led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya, traveled to Cairo to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators to advance efforts for an agreement to halt Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Hamas expressed in a statement openness to proposals ensuring a permanent cease-fire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, an end to Palestinian suffering, and a serious prisoner exchange deal.
Earlier on Monday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani affirmed their absolute rejection of the displacement of Palestinians from their land.
The two leaders discussed during their meeting in Doha the latest efforts to restore a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
In January, Egypt, alongside Qatar and the U.S., brokered a phased ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which Israel later violated by unilaterally resuming the war on March 18.
Netanyahu abandoned the deal's second phase under pressure from his government's far-right faction, according to Israeli media reports.
Nearly 51,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
