Egyptian intelligence changed the conditions of the cease-fire that Hamas was given, wrecking the agreement: Report

Cairo, Egypt, May 22: CNN reported, citing three people familiar with the discussions, that Egyptian intelligence covertly changed the conditions of a ceasefire proposal that Israel had already signed earlier this month. The proposal might have freed Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and created a way to temporarily stop the fighting in Gaza.

The ceasefire deal that the Americans and Qataris thought had been sent to Hamas for a possible final review was not what Hamas ultimately announced on May 6, according to sources.

According to CNN, the modifications implemented by Egyptian intelligence—the specifics of which have not been made public before—caused a flurry of ire and accusations among US, Qatari, and Israeli officials and put ceasefire negotiations at a standstill.

According to one of those insiders, “we were all duped,” CNN said.

Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Bill Burns, has led US attempts to mediate a ceasefire agreement; he received information that the Egyptians had modified the parameters of the accord while he was in the area. According to the same source, Burns was upset and ashamed because he thought it gave the impression that he was unaware of the modifications or hadn’t told the Israelis about them.

The insider said that the polite and soft-spoken Burns “almost blew a gasket.”.

A spokesman for the CIA refused to comment.

According to the three people with knowledge of the situation who spoke with CNN, Ahmed Abdel Khalek, a top Egyptian intelligence officer, was in charge of the modifications. According to CNN, Abdel Khalek is a senior deputy of Abbas Kamel, the head of Egyptian intelligence, who has served as Burns’ counterpart in spearheading Egypt’s mediation in the peace negotiations.

According to a person with knowledge of the conversations, Abdel Khalek gave the Israelis one story and Hamas another. According to the source, Israel had implicitly agreed to an initial framework that included more of Hamas’ demands in order to win Hamas’ support. However, the report claims that neither the Israelis nor the other mediators were notified. This is crucial information.

The first source said, “Hamas was telling their people, ‘We will have a deal in place tomorrow.”

According to the individual, “all sides were under the assumption the Egyptians provided the same document” that Israel had approved and that the US and Qatar, the other mediators, were also aware of.

Rather, the second source said that the Egyptians aimed to conflate Hamas’s reaction with the initial framework.

A request for comment was not answered by the Egyptian authorities.

Three weeks later, CNN stated, people engaged are questioning the intentions of Egypt, which has acted as a crucial middleman between Israel and Hamas, especially Hamas members within Gaza, as the ceasefire negotiations have come to a standstill.