A senior Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo this week to kick off a new round of talks on the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, on which progress has been slow.
Several media reports indicated that the talks are being led by senior Hamas figure and chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya, who survived an Israeli air strike on Qatar last September.
Sources said that the Hamas delegation met on Sunday with Major General Hassan Rashad, chief of the Egyptian General Intelligence, to discuss Egypt’s role in shaping arrangements for the second phase of the Gaza plan, particularly in the face of obstacles posed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s public radio reported last week that Netanyahu is insisting that the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt remains closed until the body of the last Israeli captive held in the enclave, Ran Gvili, is returned.
He also insists that Hamas relinquishes power in Gaza and disarm.
Trump said two weeks ago that he hoped to reach phase two of the Gaza peace plan “very quickly” and that reconstruction in Gaza could “begin pretty soon”. He also said that he would announce the names of the “Peace Council” that will oversee the proposed technocratic interim government in Gaza.
The council is expected to include members from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, the US, Germany, France, and Italy. Nickolay Mladenov, a former UN envoy, is expected to become the chair of the Peace Council.
The Gaza peace plan came into effect in October last year. Under the second phase, a technocratic interim government would be established in the devastated enclave, Hamas would disarm, and Israeli troops would withdraw.
The reconstruction of Gaza would then begin.
The first phase saw Hamas release all the living Israeli captives and all but one deceased captive who the group said it is still searching for amid the rubble. Israel in return has released thousands of Palestinian detainees but has not fulfilled its commitments on humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
Sources said the discussions in Cairo between the Hamas delegation and the chief of the Egyptian General Intelligence focused on forming a 15-member independent Gaza Administrative Committee drawn from Palestinian figures in the war-torn territory.
In a public statement on Tuesday, Hamas Spokesman Hazem Qassem said the movement has issued instructions to all its affiliated factions to prepare for handing over all institutions to the committee that will be agreed upon during the Cairo talks.
Qassem confirmed that during the Cairo talks Hamas stressed the importance of
facilitating the handover of power and ensuring the success of the committee in order to complete the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
“In Cairo, the Hamas delegation is racing against time to reach the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, which Israel is trying to evade,” Qassem said.
He indicated that the handover of power in Gaza and the formation of the interim government should coincide with Trump announcing the names of the council members, as part of the political arrangements related to the next phase of the ceasefire.
He indicated that Hamas will not be part of the council. Israel and the US have refused any future role for Hamas in governing Gaza.
Qassem insisted that Hamas has adhered to all its obligations under the peace agreement, as attested by the mediators and the Americans themselves.
“Now we are ready to engage positively and constructively with the next steps of the second phase of Trump’s plan, the most important of which is the immediate formation of a Palestinian body to manage the sector from top to bottom, the complete withdrawal of Hamas from the government, and the opening of the Rafah Crossing in both directions,” Qassem said.
Earlier, Hamas Political Bureau member Mohamed Nazzal told Al-Ghad TV that the Hamas delegation’s current visit to Cairo aims to assess the first phase of the Gaza peace agreement and how to move to the second phase.
Nazzal added that the delegation presented the mediators with a list of 40 names for the committee, noting that it requires the approval of the Palestinian factions. “Cairo is working to iron out any differences until the factions reach a united stand on the proposed technocratic committee,” Nazzal said.
Bishara Bahbah, an American academic and political activist of Palestinian origin, said in a post on his Facebook account this week that a meeting of the Palestinian factions in Cairo saw the review of the names of an independent committee to manage the affairs of the Gaza Strip, which is expected to include 12 members.
On Monday, informed sources said that the Cairo talks are expected to conclude with reaching a final agreement by the end of this week on the names of the committee tasked with managing the Gaza Strip during a transitional phase, as part of the intensive contacts and continuous meetings that Egypt is conducting with delegations from various Palestinian factions.
Several sources also confirmed that one of the central issues being discussed during the Cairo talks is mechanisms for managing the Rafah Crossing and regulating the entry and distribution of humanitarian and relief aid, in order to ensure that it reaches those who deserve it in the light of the deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said that Egypt is moving on multiple fronts to implement the second phase of the ceasefire plan in addition to the components of the transitional phase produced by UN Security Council Resolution 2803, including the formation of the Palestinian Administrative Committee and the International Stabilisation Force in Gaza.
Abdelatty said Egypt is exerting tremendous efforts to pave the way for the committee to assume its duties as soon as possible to manage the daily affairs of the Palestinians and to provide basic services in the Gaza Strip.
Regarding the International Stabilisation Force, Abdelatty said Egypt is stressing the importance of deploying it temporarily to monitor the ceasefire.
He indicated that Egypt is also keen that the Palestinian factions overcome their differences and stay united. “This is important in order to stand up to Israeli attempts aimed at undermining the chances of the two-state solution,” Abdelatty said.
Regarding the Rafah Crossing, Abdelatty reiterated Egypt’s firm, decisive, and clear position” that the crossing cannot be operated unilaterally.” He explained that it must be operated from both sides to ensure Palestinian patients can leave for medical treatment and the return of those who have completed their treatments in Egypt or abroad.
“The Palestinians should be able to use the Rafah Crossing in two directions, allowing Gazans to depart the Strip and return to it,” Abdelatty said.
A report published on Sunday by the Israeli daily Haaretz cited informed sources as saying that the Rafah Crossing is set to reopen soon in both directions, with European forces playing the main role in running it.
Those forces, added the report, have already arrived in Israel and are ready to deploy in the area.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 15 January, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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