Cairo denies proposal to transfer Hamas weapons to Egypt

Senior Egyptian sources have denied Israeli media claims that Cairo proposed a plan for Hamas to hand over its weapons to Egypt as a temporary deposit within a wider framework for Gaza’s future, Cairo News reported on Tuesday.

The denial came in response to Israeli reports suggesting that Egypt had put forward a proposal for Hamas weapons to be transferred to its custody as an “open-ended deposit” under what is described as a “day after” plan for Gaza.

According to Cairo News, senior unnamed Egyptian sources confirmed on Tuesday that there is no such proposal.

The sources explained that the proposal Egypt and Qatar introduced, which Hamas accepted, includes a 60-day ceasefire.

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They added that negotiations for a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas would begin on the first day of implementing the agreement.

Earlier on Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in a statement that “significant progress has been achieved” in the ceasefire talks on Gaza, stressing that “the ball is now in Israel’s court.”

This development follows the announcement of a new proposal by mediators on prisoner exchanges and ending the war in Gaza, which Hamas approved on Monday.

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