Gaza Herald _Efforts to revive the Gaza ceasefire have intensified as Egyptian mediators host separate talks with Israeli military officials and a Hamas delegation in Cairo. The discussions come amid growing international pressure to secure a lasting truce, expand humanitarian relief, and move forward with the long-delayed second phase of the agreement.
An Israeli military delegation held meetings with senior Egyptian military officials in Cairo over the past two days to discuss advancing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, according to Israel’s public broadcaster. The report said the talks took place alongside separate meetings between Egyptian mediators and a Hamas delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya.
The broadcaster did not identify the officials involved or disclose the outcome of the discussions. It said the negotiations are part of broader efforts to advance the next phase of the agreement under the framework proposed by US President Donald Trump, while claiming that Hamas continues to reject calls to disarm.
Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye remain the primary mediators working to preserve the ceasefire and facilitate negotiations over the agreement’s future. Egyptian authorities have not publicly commented on the reported meetings.
Announced by Trump on Sept. 29, 2025, the ceasefire agreement’s first phase included a temporary halt to hostilities, a partial Israeli military withdrawal, the release of Israeli captives, and the daily entry of 600 humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza. While Hamas completed the agreed release of Israeli captives, Israel failed to fulfill its humanitarian obligations under the deal and continued military attacks that have killed 1,092 Palestinians and wounded 3,507 others since the agreement took effect.
The proposed second phase calls for a broader Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, where Israeli forces continue to control more than 70 percent of the territory, as well as the launch of large-scale reconstruction efforts in exchange for the beginning of discussions on the disarmament of Palestinian factions. Israel has so far declined to implement this phase, insisting that disarmament must come before any further withdrawal.
The latest diplomatic efforts unfold against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza. According to Palestinian authorities, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 173,000 injured since October 2023, while roughly 91 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, leaving much of the enclave uninhabitable and deepening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
