Israeli, Egyptian security chiefs discuss stalled hostage agreement negotiations

Ronen Bar, the director of Israel's domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, met with his Egyptian counterpart Abbas Kamel in Cairo on Sunday, according to the Israeli news site Walla, which cited a source "familiar with the visit."

The purpose of the top-level bilateral meeting was to discuss the stalled negotiations concerning the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza.

Shin Bet has officially declined to comment on the report of the Egyptian-Israeli top-level meeting.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, brutally killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 251 Israelis and foreign nationals into Gaza. The IDF believes that of 97 of the hostages remaining in Gaza, about half of them are still alive.

Alongside the United States and Qatar, Egypt has invested considerable effort in securing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that would secure the release of the remaining hostages. While the Jewish state has indicated it will accept the current international proposal, Hamas leadership has so far rejected all efforts to reach an agreement.

Israeli and Egyptian security chiefs reportedly discussed the framework of an internationally brokered hostage-ceasefire agreement but did not reach any breakthrough.

Bar and Kamel also discussed Israel’s control of the Rafah crossing on the border between Egypt and Gaza, and the Philadelphi Corridor that runs along the Egypt-Gaza border.

Cairo opposes an Israeli military presence so close to its border. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the IDF's presence at the Philadelphi Corridor is necessary to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons across the border into the Gaza Strip.

The leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, has demanded a complete end to the war and Israel has indicated its willingness to accept a prolonged truce but has also vowed to dismantle Hamas and eliminate the threat to the Jewish state.

Sinwar, who has been on the run within Gaza for months, is believed to be hiding somewhere in Hamas' vast underground tunnel network. Following speculations that Sinwar was dead, the elusive Hamas leader recently re-established contact with Qatari negotiators.

The Biden administration blasted Hamas leaders for refusing to accept a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Some pundits believe Sinwar hopes that the conflict will escalate into a full-scale regional war between Israel and the Iranian-led terrorist proxy axis, which includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Iran-loyal terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.

The chief of Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency, David Barnea, recently proposed the possibility of linking a potential ceasefire deal with Hezbollah to the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Barnea presented his proposal during top-level talks with CIA Director William Burns. The rationale behind the proposal is to use Israel’s recent military successes against Hezbollah in Lebanon as leverage to pressure Hamas leader Sinwar into accepting a Gaza deal. Barnea believes that Hezbollah’s rapidly weakening military capabilities may push Sinwar to abandon his ambition of igniting a regional war between Israel and the Iranian-led axis.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently estimated that Hezbollah now has less than one-third of its pre-war arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles remaining.