GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The states of Egypt and Qatar announced on Sunday that they are continuing their intensive efforts to bridge gaps and overcome points of contention to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. These efforts are based on the proposal put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff and aim to resume indirect negotiations on that basis.
In a joint Egyptian-Qatari statement, Cairo and Doha reaffirmed their commitment, in coordination with the United States, to intensify efforts to overcome the obstacles facing the negotiation process.
The two countries called on all parties to demonstrate responsibility and to support the mediators’ efforts to end the crisis in Gaza and restore stability and calm to the region.
They also expressed hope for the swift conclusion of a temporary 60-day truce that would lead to a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The statement noted that such an agreement would allow for the resolution of the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the Strip, the reopening of border crossings, and the entry of humanitarian and relief aid—ultimately paving the way to end the war entirely and begin reconstruction by the plan adopted at the emergency Arab summit in Cairo on March 4, 2025.
On Saturday evening, the Hamas Movement announced that it had delivered its response to the “Witkoff proposal” to the mediators. The response, Hamas said, aims to ensure a “permanent ceasefire, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the uninterrupted flow of aid to our people in the Strip.”
The US envoy Steve Witkoff rejected Hamas’s response, stating that it was “completely unacceptable.”
Witkoff said, “I have received Hamas’s response to the US proposal, and it is unacceptable and will only set us back.”
