Report: Egypt predicts hostage negotiations will fail

Egypt is predicting that the current round of negotiations between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire and the release of hostages will end in failure.

Talking with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, a senior Egyptian source said that discussions were held over the past day, during which Egypt expressed its disappointment with the elimination of three of Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh’s sons at a time when the mediators increased their efforts to reach a deal.

According to the Egyptian source, the Israeli representatives said that as long as there was no deal or initial signs of progress towards one, nothing would prevent strikes on targets in Gaza.

The Egyptian source noted that there is no need for any extra time to proclaim the failure of the current round of negotiations since all signs point to this.

He added that “during the last round in Cairo, Israeli representatives implied that the center of gravity of the Israeli government is not interested in bringing back the hostages whether they are civilians or military.”

The Egyptian further claimed that “a senior representative of the Israeli delegation confirmed that there are significant voices in the government who thing that the soldiers and officers who are being killed on the battlefield are no less important than the hostages.”