ALBAWABA - Egyptian authorities threatened to withdraw from Gaza ceasefire negotiations, following a report by CNN accusing Egyptian intelligence services of attempting to tank the latest truce proposal.
The CNN report revealed that intelligence services in Egypt " quietly changed the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Israel had already signed off on earlier this month".
Egypt's State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, released a statement on social media commenting on the allegations made by CNN: "Attempts to cast doubt and offend Egypt's mediation efforts... will only lead to further complications of the situation in Gaza and the entire region and may push Egypt to completely withdraw from its mediation in the current conflict,".
CNN alleges that alterations made by Egyptian intelligence, the specifics of which have not been made public before, caused a surge of outrage and complaints among US, Qatari, and Israeli officials and resulted in a deadlock in ceasefire negotiations.
Security sources told the New Arab that "The Israeli side has been pointing accusing fingers at Egypt since it had declared its intention to join South Africa in the genocide case against [the Zionist state] before the International Court of Justice, and after the country had repeatedly rejected Israeli plans to displace Gazans into North Sinai,".
According to the three individuals involved with the negotiations, as reported by CNN, the modifications were made by Ahmed Abdel Khalek, the deputy head of Egyptian general intelligence who was in charge of the Palestinian file.
The prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, stated last week that Israel's military actions in Rafah, which Egypt opposes, were the reason for the stalemate in the peace negotiations in Gaza.
Sheikh Mohammed stated that the hostage-taking and war-ending issues had been the primary points of disagreement between Israel and Hamas.
Al-Aqsa Flood operation against Israel
Hamas military group announced on Oct. 7 a military operation called "Al-Aqsa Flood" against Israel which is the biggest offensive in decades.
Palestinian fighters “infiltrated” Israel from the Gaza Strip and captured military bases and took hostages as photos and videos went viral online showing Hamas fighters on vehicles inside Israel and others paragliding into occupation territory.
In response, Israeli armed forces announced targeting Hamas positions inside the Gaza Strip. Thousands were killed, and dozens of thousands of others were injured in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The latest statistics by the Ministry of Health in Gaza revealed that the death toll from Israeli brutal pounding on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has soared to 35,709+ people, with more than 79,990+ injuries.
Since then, approximately 85% of Gazans have been displaced, all of whom are suffering from severe food insecurity, and the healthcare system has collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of people lack shelter, and aid trucks are entering the area at a lower rate than before the conflict began.
