Egyptian intel altered truce deal, derailing hostage release: Report
NEW DELHI: In a surprising turn of events, Egyptian intelligence quietly altered the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Israel had approved earlier this month, ultimately derailing a deal that could have facilitated the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and temporarily halted the conflict in Gaza. This revelation comes from three sources familiar with the discussions.
The truce agreement announced by Hamas on May 6 diverged significantly from what the Qataris and Americans believed had been submitted for Hamas’ final review. The unreported changes by Egyptian intelligence led to anger and recrimination among officials from the US, Qatar, and Israel, stalling the ceasefire talks. “We were all duped,” a source was quoted as saying by CNN.
CIA director Bill Burns, who has been leading US efforts to broker the ceasefire, was in the region when he learned of the alterations. Burns, reportedly angry and embarrassed, felt out of the loop and uninformed about the changes. “Burns almost blew a gasket,” said the source, describing the normally calm CIA director’s reaction.
The sources identified Ahmed Abdel Khalek, a senior deputy to Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, as the official responsible for the changes. Abdel Khalek reportedly told Israel one thing and Hamas another, incorporating more of Hamas’ demands into the original framework that Israel had agreed to, unbeknownst to the other mediators.
“Hamas was telling their people, ‘We will have a deal in place tomorrow’,” said one source. “All sides assumed the Egyptians provided the same document” that Israel had approved and other mediators were aware of, the source added.
Instead, the Egyptians blurred the lines between the original framework and Hamas’s response, leading to confusion and mistrust.
A Hamas document obtained by CNN outlined the group’s version of the framework, which included a permanent ceasefire and a “sustainable calm” in the second phase of the three-stage deal. However, Israel has been resistant to discussing an end to the war before Hamas releases the remaining hostages.