New Gaza truce proposal from Egypt, Qatar sets terms for Hamas to step aside, informed sources say

A new ceasefire deal that would see Hamas step aside from governance and security in the Gaza Strip was discussed in Cairo on Tuesday by parties to the deal and mediators, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas source who spoke to Mada Masr.

They said that the proposal, which is being put forward by Egypt and Qatar, would include a term requiring Hamas to relinquish governance of the strip, a scenario which parties to the deal including Hamas have said would be acceptable. 

But obstacles remain, since the new proposal would have resistance forces hand over their weapons — “a condition the movement still rejects,” the Hamas source said.

The new formula is the latest development after over four weeks of talks between mediators, which have taken place in regional capitals as Israel pushes forward with its genocidal war on Palestinians, advancing into the strip and resuming the daily bombardment campaigns that it had halted only partially earlier this year amid the short-lived ceasefire.

The new formula was on the table for a Hamas delegation which arrived in Cairo from Doha on Tuesday to speak with Egyptian representatives, the Hamas source said.

According to both sources, the proposal includes a long-term truce, between five and seven years, the complete withdrawal of Israel’s forces from the strip and an immediate prisoner exchange — all the Israeli prisoners held in Gaza for a specified number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Hamas would then step aside from governance in the strip, both sources confirmed. The earlier ceasefire deal, which entered force in January, did not specify who would govern the coastal enclave in future.

Instead of Hamas, the new formula would see “the Palestinian Authority get instituted in Gaza to take full and exclusive military and political power,” according to the Egyptian official. The Hamas source likewise indicated that the PA or a PA-affiliated group would likely be named to assume power over the strip.

“The movement has no objection to handing over power to an agreed-upon, neutral Palestinian entity,” said the Hamas source.

No solution has been found for the weapons clause, however. 

An alternative being discussed is for a “freezing” of the resistance's armament, which would mean isolating the arms or handing them to the entity that will govern the strip, the source said. 

In that case, guarantees should be provided for the use of the weapons in the event that the Occupation violates the deal agreement, they continued.

The source indicated that the movement is still not willing to accept this condition and is studying the matter. Israeli, Qatari and Hamas technical delegations were in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the agreement, according to the Egyptian official.

“The Americans are open to the idea [of the new proposal] as long as Hamas is marginalized and then eliminated,” the official said, adding that they believe the United States is keen for the war to be halted when US President Donald Trump visits the region in May.

The US, however, would want provisions for the displacement of Palestinians from the strip’s north and center — which could then be turned into an investment hub — and their relocation to central and southern areas of the coastal enclave, according to the same official.

US President Donald Trump put forward a vision for the forced displacement of Gaza’s entire population earlier this year, suggesting they be resettled to Egypt and Jordan, a proposal which both of the latter leaders have lobbied hard against over recent weeks.

Occupation forces have advanced into the strip’s northeast and south since resuming their aggression on Gaza in March, pushing Palestinians into a shrinking perimeter along the enclave’s coastline and displacing nearly 400,000 people according to United Nations figures.