Egyptian official: ‘We are close’ to prisoner exchange deal in Gaza talks

“It would be very, very great if, if an agreement is reached, you would be present. I invite [US President Donald] Trump, if an agreement is reached, to attend the signing in Egypt,” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said during an address at the Police Academy’s graduation ceremony on Wednesday.

The president’s comments were one of many signs of progress in the negotiations ongoing on Wednesday on multiple tracks, in several cities across Egypt, around a 20-point plan published by the White House in late September to bring an end to the two-year war on Gaza and take steps toward a postwar security and governance model.

An Egyptian official close to the negotiations confirmed to Mada Masr that the positive public sentiment reflects the content of the talks. 

“We are close to a prisoner exchange deal,” the official said.

A Hamas source also noted that “there is a positive response regarding the ceasefire to pave the way for the identification of the prisoners and recovering the bodies of those killed.”

The source, as well as another member of the group, confirmed that Hamas handed Egyptian mediators on Wednesday a list of prisoners which is set for discussion.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhalah predicted the completion of a prisoner exchange agreement in the coming days, saying it would defuse the situation and eliminate Israel’s pretexts for the aggression.

The progress comes as new delegations flocked to Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday. 

The Hamas delegation was joined in the Sinai resort by representatives from PIJ and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. US envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdul Rahman, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer all joined the talks on Wednesday as well.

After a morning session between mediators and the Hamas delegation, the head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, the Qatari prime minister and foreign minister, as well as Kalin, Witkoff, Kushner and Dermer convened for an expanded session.

Despite the progress, the first Hamas source told Mada Masr that the talks remain at an impasse regarding the group’s most pressing demand: assurances that the war would end. 

“We proposed linking the release of prisoners to the stages of withdrawal, but Israel refused,” the source said.

The Egyptian official close to the negotiations confirmed this account. “We told Hamas that they cannot have a staged handover,” he told Mada Masr. 

One of the first terms in the White House’s 20-point plan is the stipulation that all remaining Israeli prisoners in Gaza, both living and dead, be released within 72 hours of the proposal being agreed to by both sides.

While the talks have been framed as a bid to end the war entirely, mediators have tried to divide the main line of negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh into segments over the course of the last three days. 

The prisoner exchange is part one of phase one, a second Egyptian official told Mada Masr. 

“Part one is for a ceasefire to go into effect and for hostages to be handed over and this is not going to be in a day or two or three,” the second official says. “Part two of phase one is for Israel to withdraw out of 35 percent of the 85 percent of Gaza it currently occupies to allow Hamas to gather the remains of [Israelis] who died in captivity. Hamas has said it so many times: if there is no withdrawal, they cannot be working on the ground.”

Other Egyptian officials that Mada Masr has spoken to in recent days have filled in other parts of phase one. It will also include the release of Palestinian captives, the entry of humanitarian aid, and the suspension of hostilities. 

The arrival of Witkoff, Kushner, Kalin, and the Qatari prime minister in Sharm el-Sheikh is ratcheting up the pressure on both sides. 

“The Israelis are very reluctant,” the second Egyptian official said. “So Egypt asked Kushner and Witkoff to convince Israel to make concessions because Hamas is already under pressure. If you really want to reach a deal you cannot expect pressure on only one side. Hamas is well aware that it is weakened. It is well aware that it has lost most significant military leaders. It is well aware that the people are very tired and frustrated.”

Hamas, on the other hand, is keen to move toward the second phase, the first Hamas source says, and to “receive guarantees that they [can] begin discussing the next phase without returning to war after the first phase ends.”

“We have not yet received guarantees from Israel or the American side, and all we have received are mere reassurances,” the source said.

Phase two would see discussion on several larger features of the postwar governance plan, including the proposed international stabilization force, an expanded Israeli withdrawal, and the question of Gaza’s governance model.

Egypt is currently hosting informal meetings in Cairo between Palestinian factions, including Fatah, according to a Hamas source, a Palestinian Authority official, and a third Egyptian official. The talks are intended to lay the groundwork for a potential second phase of negotiations.

"There are discussions with the PA regarding [the governance of Gaza by Palestinians] in order to agree on a plan that will be ready as soon as this issue is raised in the ceasefire negotiations,” the first Hamas source said.

Egypt and the factions’ push for Palestinian governance stands in stark contrast to the postwar plan laid out by Trump last week, which was centered on a three-part governance model that an Arab League source described to Mada Masr as placing Gaza “under foreign guardianship.”

Wednesday’s arrival of Dermer, who the second Egyptian official describes as Netanyahu’s representative, is likely to dampen any quick move to phase two. “Often enough when Dermer arrives, he raises the bar of Israeli conditions and shows less flexibility,” the official said. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also noted that Trump had asked Turkey to “persuade” Hamas to accept his plan for ending the Gaza war. “Both during our visit to the US and in our most recent phone call, we explained to Mr. Trump how a solution could be achieved in Palestine. He specifically requested that we meet with Hamas and persuade them,” Erdogan told journalists on Wednesday

Despite obstacles to a permanent end to the war and the momentum of the US plan, Egypt is nonetheless trying to take advantage of any partial halt in hostilities and the potential of an Israeli withdrawal to give Palestinians in Gaza some “breathing room,” the official said. 

As such, there are meetings happening in Cairo and Arish in parallel to those in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss the details of building a camp in southern Gaza for displaced Palestinians. 

“This is something that Egypt and the Turks are working on, and we are discussing the very small details to build a camp where people could live,” the official said, adding that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have pledged funds for temporary electricity supply, shelter, sewage services, and water. 

“The idea would be for the camp to expand with further Israeli withdrawals,” the official said. “Because the space of land [available] for the camp’s construction is very small. You need space. We are talking about 2 million people. You cannot have 2 million in the stretch of land where Israel does not currently have a military presence right now. You need to have space.”

The official added that there will also be “facilities” on the Egyptian side for medical care and lodging for those leaving Gaza to be reunited with families in third country destinations. 

All of this, the official said, can only happen if the parties “reach phrase one of the deal.” 

And while a cautious optimism is emerging from Egypt, the talks, both for phase one and any later steps, remain at a fragile stage. 

“The enemy and its allies must know that we cannot surrender to their conditions and dictates after this great price," Nakhalah said on Wednesday. 

“Negotiations are going along very well,” Trump said at a Wednesday evening press conference, referring to the Egypt discussions. “I may go there some time toward the end of the week. Maybe on Sunday, actually.”

As for the second Egyptian official, all options remain on the table. “Nothing is excluded,” they said. “Nothing is done until it is done.”