On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, the American network CNN revealed that the exchange deal and ceasefire agreement announced by Hamas at the beginning of May had undergone changes quietly made by Egyptian intelligence without the knowledge of Tel Aviv and other mediators, namely Doha and Washington.
The network, citing three unnamed sources familiar with the talks, reported that Egyptian intelligence altered the terms of the ceasefire proposal that Israel had already signed earlier this month. This ultimately thwarted the exchange deal and set a path for a temporary end to the fighting in Gaza. The sources said that the ceasefire agreement announced by Hamas on May 6 was not what the Qataris or Americans thought had been submitted to Hamas for review.
The changes made by Egyptian intelligence, the details of which have not been disclosed, led to a wave of anger and mutual accusations among officials from the United States, Qatar, and Israel, leaving the ceasefire talks at an impasse. One of the sources told CNN: “We were all deceived.”
According to the same source, CIA Director Bill Burns, who led the U.S. efforts to mediate a ceasefire agreement, was furious and embarrassed when he learned that the Egyptians had changed the terms of the agreement. The source said Burns, known for his soft-spoken and moderate style, “nearly exploded with rage.”
What exactly happened?
The three sources familiar with the matter said that a senior Egyptian intelligence official named Ahmed Abdel Khalek was responsible for making the changes. Abdel Khalek is the first deputy to the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel.
The first source said: “All parties assumed that the Egyptians presented the same document” that Israel had signed and that the other mediators, the United States and Qatar, were aware of.
Instead, the second source said, the Egyptians sought to blur the lines between the original framework and Hamas’s response.
According to the three sources, the deal was close at hand; more of Hamas’s demands were included in the original framework that Israel had agreed to.
A document from Hamas obtained by CNN outlines the version of the framework they agreed to, which includes achieving a permanent ceasefire and “sustainable calm” to be reached in the second phase of the three-phase deal. Israel opposed agreeing to discuss ending the war before defeating Hamas and releasing the remaining hostages.
Now, three weeks later, with ceasefire talks stalled, participants are questioning Egypt’s motives, as it has long acted as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, especially for Hamas members inside Gaza.
Qatar was unaware
After discovering Egypt’s independent actions, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani informed Israel that Egypt had acted alone, according to two sources.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and CIA Director Burns tried to salvage the proposal and rebalance it by adding elements they knew Israel would agree to.
A senior Biden administration official said, “This doesn’t make sense,” about why Egyptian intelligence would try to push something without the fundamental approval of the others.
One source said that after the Egyptians returned from Israel and consulted with Hamas, it became clear that Hamas would not agree to what Israel had agreed to. Therefore, the Egyptian official made significant changes to persuade Hamas to agree.
The day before Hamas’s public announcement on May 6 of their approval of the proposal, an Egyptian source told CNN that Egypt received Hamas’s response and sent it to the Israeli side.
The source said: “Several alternatives and scenarios were put forward to overcome the fundamental point of contention regarding ending the war.”
The language of the agreement on ending the war was perhaps the most contentious issue throughout the negotiations, but Netanyahu said what Hamas had returned was “far from Israel’s basic demands.”
Negotiators, including Burns, returned to Cairo for another round of indirect talks with Hamas, and Israel agreed to send a team, as did Qatar, but neither sent senior officials, indicating that despite previous optimism, an agreement would not be as imminent as hoped.
Two days after Hamas’s response on May 6, Burns returned to Washington, and sources told CNN that the talks had “paused.”
The second source familiar with the negotiations said that if the talks resume, the Qataris are expected to play a larger role in the next round.
Discussions are expected to focus on a broad framework that includes an initial phase in which up to 33 Israeli prisoners are released over at least six weeks. Hamas is pushing for the inclusion of the bodies of dead hostages in the initial release, and the first phase flows into the second phase without interruption, both positions that Israel rejects.
Critics of Netanyahu, including the families of Israeli hostages, accused Netanyahu of being more interested in attacking Hamas in Gaza than in returning his citizens.
The ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, now in its eighth month, has resulted in over 115,000 Palestinian casualties, mostly children and women, with about 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
Israel continues the war despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and a demand by the International Court of Justice for immediate measures to prevent genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
