Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met in Cairo on Friday, hoping to broker a de-escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, humanitarian aid and the release of Israeli hostages.
The Qatari and Egyptian leaders discussed intensifying efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and deliver enough aid for the 2.3 million besieged residents, according to Sisi’s Office.
The emir’s visit came a day after Qatar’s prime minister met with the heads of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israel’s Mossad spy agency in Doha to discuss a deal to release hostages and suspend hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
Qatar, where several Hamas political leaders are based, has led the mediation between the Palestinian militant group and Israeli officials for the release of more than 240 hostages taken in the October 7 Hamas attack.
Egypt also maintains contact with Hamas and Israel and has been involved in negotiations, including assistance through the Rafah crossing with Gaza and the evacuation from the territory of foreign passport holders and some Palestinians in need of urgent medical care.
Evacuations through Rafah resumed on Thursday after the Red Cross claimed that one of its convoys escorting evacuees was attacked inside Gaza. The United Nations reported that 65 truckloads of humanitarian aid arrived in Gaza from Egypt on Thursday. However, the UN said the trucks were far short of the number needed to address the deepening humanitarian crisis.
The United States announced on Thursday that Israel had agreed to daily four-hour pauses in northern Gaza and the operation of corridors to move civilians south, although there were no signs of any cessation of hostilities.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, at least 10,569 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women. Official figures put the death toll in Israel at nearly 1,600.
