Egypt, Qatar intensify efforts to save Gaza ceasefire

Egypt and Qatar are intensifying efforts to save the Gaza ceasefire deal, calling for the immediate start of reconstruction.

The ceasefire has looked increasingly fragile since Hamas said this week it was postponing the release of any more Israeli hostages held in Gaza, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

US President Donald Trump has warned Palestinians that "hell will break loose" if Israeli hostages are not released on Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will resume "intense fighting" if Hamas does not meet the deadline.

Egyptian sources told Reuters that Qatar and Egypt were in discussions with Hamas and Israel to prevent the cancellation of the ceasefire deal and to ensure its completion.

A Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo to continue ceasefire talks, the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.

Egypt and Qatar alongside the United States brokered the deal that took effect on January 19 after more than a year of extensive diplomatic efforts.

Egyptian President Abdelfatah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II called for the "immediate" start of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday "without displacing the Palestinian people" to counter Trump's plan.

In a phone call, the two leaders "stressed the importance of the immediate reconstruction process in Gaza without displacing the Palestinian people from their land," in addition to "put an end to the practices of the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians in the West Bank," according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency.

The note also read that both Al Sisi and Abdullah II "expressed their interest in working closely with US President Donald Trump to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East region" but insisted that this co-operation would not include the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza.

They expressed support for Trump's "leadership" yet focused on peace in the region "through the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the borders of January 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, by the relevant United Nations resolutions."

The Egyptian and Jordanian leaders stressed the need to "fully implement the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, continue to release hostages and detainees, and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid" into the enclave at a time of heightened tensions over the possible collapse of the pact and the resumption of war.

Trump is proposing that the US take over Gaza and turn it into a real estate project called the "Riviera of the Middle East", expelling Palestinians to neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Egypt, which has been widely rejected and condemned by the international and Arab community.

Israel launched its offensive on Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen killed some 1,200 people and seized more than 250 as hostages in an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli tallies.

The war has killed more than 48,000 of the nearly two million Palestinians who live there, Gaza authorities have said.