Women and children gather outside a tent at a camp for people displaced by war in northern Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. AFP
“If an agreement is reached to end the war, Arab states will follow by signing peace accords with Israel,” Abdelatty told Al Arabiya and Al Hadath in an interview on Wednesday.
The minister confirmed that indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh are ongoing, describing them as taking place with “decisive and pivotal regional participation.” He said Egypt is working “steadily and seriously” to bring the war to an end.
Abdelatty added that “the main guarantor for the success of the negotiations is US President Donald Trump himself,” whose administration has presented a multi-stage plan to halt the conflict.
Negotiations and proposed framework
According to Abdelatty, there are “intensive efforts being exerted to reach a solution to end the crisis.”
“As long as all relevant parties remain engaged, this represents a significant step that can be built upon to reach understandings and agreements,” he stressed.
The current round of discussions focuses on the plan’s first phase, allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, halting the fighting, releasing detainees, and facilitating the recovery of captives.
He said US envoy for Middle East Affairs Steve Witkoff is expected to join the talks within hours, adding that Trump’s plan includes “positive core elements,” such as rejecting the annexation of Gaza and the West Bank, opposing displacement, and committing to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“These are elements that must be supported and leveraged to stop the genocidal war and create a political horizon,” he said.
“There can be no sustainable security without development, and no development without security,” the minister continued, recalling that “the late Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat led the region toward peace, and Egypt continues along the same path to achieve security and stability in the Middle East and the entire region.”
Abdelatty also said United Nations (UN)-led efforts are underway to adopt the plan and deploy an international force in Gaza. The negotiations in Sharm El-Sheikh, he noted, are addressing a potential redeployment of Israeli forces as a prelude to withdrawal, with security guarantees for all sides.
The minister urged the international community to pressure Israel to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, warning that conditions inside Gaza “have reached the level of famine.”
Contentious points
Diplomatic sources told Al Arabiya and Al Hadath that several issues remain unresolved.
Hamas is reportedly demanding the release of its elite members as part of the prisoner exchange deal, as well as the release of six senior figures, including Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti and Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmad Saadat, as well as assurances that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not resume hostilities after the deal.
The maps detailing the stages of Israel’s withdrawal and the timetable for returning detainees’ bodies are also among the points of contention. Hamas is said to have demanded that 400 trucks of aid be allowed into Gaza daily.
Regional and domestic priorities
Abdelatty reiterated Egypt’s long-standing position on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), rejecting any infringement on its share of Nile waters and opposing what he described as Ethiopia’s “unilateral actions.”
He stressed Egypt’s commitment to cooperation with Nile Basin countries to advance development and stability across Africa.
The indirect talks between Hamas and Israel began on Monday as part of efforts to implement the first phase of the Trump plan, which Cairo has backed as a possible framework for de-escalation and longer-term political negotiations.
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