Egypt threatened today to withdraw as a mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks after CNN reported that Egyptian intelligence had changed the terms of a recent truce proposal and scrapped the deal, Reuters reports.
"Attempts to cast doubt and insult Egypt's mediation efforts ... will only lead to further complications of the situation in Gaza and the entire region and may force Egypt to completely withdraw from its mediation in the current conflict," said Dia Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State information services, according to a statement published on social networks.
Citing three people familiar with the discussions, CNN reported on Tuesday that Egyptian intelligence had changed the terms of a ceasefire proposal Israel had agreed to earlier in May.
When Hamas announced its acceptance of the deal on May 6, it was not the proposal that fellow mediators from the US and Qatar thought had been submitted to Hamas for consideration, according to CNN.
The changes made by Egyptian intelligence have sparked anger and recriminations from US, Israeli and Qatari officials and caused an impasse in talks, according to a CNN report.
Rashvan said in a statement that Cairo's participation as a mediator was the result of "repeated demands and insistence" by Israel and the US.
Egypt said some "parties" had recently blamed the Egyptian and Qatari mediators and accused them of being biased, he added.
Tensions between Egypt and Israel are rising over Israel's military operation in Rafah at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, just across the border with Egypt.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, Egypt has expressed concern that the Israeli campaign could push residents of the Palestinian enclave across the border, where it has stepped up security.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Spain, Ireland and Norway's plans to recognize a Palestinian state are a reward for terrorism.
United States (US) President Joseph Biden believes a Palestinian state should be achieved through negotiations, not unilateral recognition, the White House said Wednesday, after Ireland, Spain and Norway said they would recognize a Palestinian state this month.
The Hamas Health Ministry announced today that at least 24 people were killed in Gaza in the past 62 hours, and that since the beginning of the war, a total of 35.709 have been killed.
In the press release, the ministry adds that at least 79.990 people were wounded in more than seven months of war.
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Israel's Minister of National Security, right-wing politician Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem today and declared that the disputed holy place belongs "only to the State of Israel".
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which is at war with Israel in the Gaza Strip, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), today welcomed the decision of three European countries to recognize the state of Palestine.
Spain, Norway and Ireland today announced a coordinated decision to recognize a Palestinian state in the hope of prompting other countries to do the same.
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