Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Egypt's latest proposals to reinstate the ceasefire in Gaza are making little progress, with Israel and Hamas continuing to hold talks with mediators but refusing to budge on their demands, sources told The National on Tuesday.
The proposals, first reported by The National on March 19, provide for the release of up to six living hostages held by Hamas, including an Israeli-US dual national, along with the remains of an unspecified number of hostages who died in captivity.
In return, according to the sources, Israel should allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, release hundreds of Palestinians incarcerated in its prisons and enter negotiations on ending the war and withdrawing from the war-battered enclave.
The sources said contacts between Egyptian and Qatari mediators and Israeli and Hamas negotiators were continuing but an agreement on Cairo's proposals remained elusive. These included two unpublicised visits to Cairo by senior Hamas officials over the weekend and last Wednesday for talks with Egyptian mediators.
Separate talks between the Egyptians and mid-level officials from Israel's Mossad intelligence agency also took place this week and last week, they said.
The US, Egypt and Qatar brokered a Gaza ceasefire that went into effect on January 19. The first phase expired on March 1 without any progress on negotiating the next phase, but Gaza remained relatively quiet until Israel resumed air strikes on Tuesday and later launched ground operations.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that 730 people had been killed since Israel resumed bombardment on March 18, pushing the Palestinian death toll since the war began in October 2023 past the 50,000 threshold.
Both Israel and the US insist that hostilities have resumed because Hamas is refusing to free the hostages. However, the agreement reached in January provides for a second stage of negotiations on a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, which would take place alongside the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinians detained by Israel.
The negotiations had been due to start in early February, but they never did, with Israel suggesting an extension of the first phase of the deal.
Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second stage of negotiations and rejected a proposal made by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and embraced by Israel that the militant group free 10 living hostages and hand over the remains of half the deceased in exchange for a 50-day truce and a resumption of relief aid as well freedom for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
“Israel is refusing to discuss the Egyptian proposals,” said one of the sources. “It is in a different place these days. Its representatives are conveying arrogant and unreasonable demands which are making everyone realise that only Washington can break the impasse. But that's not happening.”
The sources said that besides Hamas disarming, Israel wants the group's leaders to leave the territory and live in exile, made clear that it has no intention of fully withdrawing from Gaza or leaving the narrow strip that runs the length of the Palestinian side of the territory's border with Egypt. Cairo says the presence of the Israeli military inside the strip violates its 1979 peace treaty with Israel and subsequent accords.
Israel has blocked aid deliveries to Gaza since early this month and later cut off the supply of electricity, moves that have compounded the suffering of the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians.
The sources said Hamas had agreed to the Egyptian proposals, but only in principle. Its negotiators have demanded guarantees that negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal will take place. Hamas also wants Israel to halt attacks on its leaders, they added.
The sources spoke a day after Egypt's Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, and Mr Witkoff discussed the fate of the ceasefire and the release of hostages over the phone.
“The call dealt with joint efforts by Egypt, the United States and Qatar to secure the release of hostages, reduce tension and reinforce and implement the ceasefire agreement in Gaza,” said a statement by Egypt's Foreign Ministry on Monday night. It gave no other details.
The impasse over the Egyptian proposals come as Cairo's relations with Israel continue to sour.
Egypt on Monday issued a strong condemnation of Israel's decision to set up an agency to enable the exit of Gazans from the strip, taking issue with Israel's use of the word “voluntary”.
Leaving “under the fire of bombardment, war, policies that deny humanitarian aid and use hunger as a weapon is forcible eviction”, a separate Foreign Ministry statement said on Monday night.
Egypt also rejects suggestions by US President Donald Trump and embraced by Israel that Gaza's residents be resettled in Egypt and Jordan as the US takes over the territory on the east Mediterranean and develops it into a beach resort.
Egypt, which borders both Israel and Gaza, has repeatedly said that forcing Gazans from their land will hollow out the Palestinian cause, sink any hope of creating an independent homeland for Palestinians and undermine its national security.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
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Match info:
Portugal 1
Ronaldo (4')
Morocco 0
more from Janine di Giovanni
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
