A well-informed Egyptian source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that mediators are working to bring members of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza into the enclave soon, with discussions proposing that the move take place before Eid al-Adha, which falls at the end of the month.
“The negotiations did not stop because of the killing of the son of Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, and they will not stop,” it added, saying mediators are waiting for the Israeli government to respond to proposals by senior representative of the Gaza Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov.
On Thursday, Hamas confirmed the death of Khalil al-Hayya's son Azzam from wounds sustained after an Israeli attack targeted him and others in Gaza City on Wednesday.
The attack also killed Hamza al-Sharbasi, a field commander in Hamas’ Qassam Brigades armed wing, in the Shujaiyya neighborhood.
Two days before the killing, Mladenov said he had a “positive and substantive discussion” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a post on X after meeting the PM, Mladenov added that all parties were working to turn Gaza commitments into concrete measures, saying that progress would require decisions to be made. He did not elaborate.
The Egyptian source revealed that the meeting between Mladenov and Netanyahu “was not successful.”
It explained that Mladenov presented the Israeli prime minister with a working paper outlining new paths of action for the coming period, but the meeting “did not achieve progress and was not good.”
The source revealed that the paper focused on two main points. The first was allowing members of the Gaza administration committee to enter the Strip, something the parties agreed would take place during the coming period, specifically before Eid al-Adha.
The second was increasing the entry of humanitarian aid.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the source said Cairo would soon host leaders from the Palestinian Fatah movement and its various factions ahead of its general conference on May 14.
The meetings aim to support Egypt’s efforts to reorganize Palestinian priorities following the successful municipal elections, which included Gaza’s Deir al-Balah city.
The source stressed that contacts regarding completion of the ceasefire implementation have not stopped, and that Cairo remains determined to ensure the success of efforts and deny Israel the opportunity to evade previous agreements.
According to the source, continuous contacts are also taking place with Türkiye and Qatar, alongside a role played by the United Arab Emirates, in order to push forward a Gaza agreement.
The source said all parties are currently waiting to see how Israel responds to regional and international pressure, while efforts continue to strengthen communication with the United States to increase pressure on Netanyahu, who argues that there has been no breakthrough on the disarmament of factions, including Hamas.
The source said Cairo recognizes the importance of timing, particularly with Israeli parliamentary elections approaching.
