Encouraged by Trump, Israel mulls sending delegation to Cairo
After US President-Elect Donald Trump's clear message regarding the hostages, Jerusalem is mulling to offer significantly decreasing the presence of IDF troops on the Philadelphi Corridor
Israel is considering the possibility of dispatching a negotiation team to Egypt in the coming days to explore the possibility of advancing the hostage deal, i24NEWS learned on Tuesday. Whether or not the delegation leaves greatly depends on the responses received from the mediators' meetings with senior Hamas officials who arrived in Cairo.
The current position of the Israeli government is in line with a proposal submitted by the Biden administration on August 16. The proposal stipulates a six-week ceasefire, during which Palestinian prisoners and terrorists will be released for Israeli hostages held in captivity, and negotiations for a permanent ceasefire will resume.
The IDF will significantly reduce its presence on the Philadelphi Corridor, but will not completely withdraw from it, as a senior Israeli official confirmed last weekend. In addition, the discussion about extending the ceasefire to a more permanent agreement will be postponed to the second stage of the deal.
Israeli officials were encouraged by the uncompromising message of US President-Elect Donald Trump, which demanded the release of the remaining captives before he takes office on January 20.
Trump posted on his social network Truth social network on Monday, threatening that if "the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity."