Israeli delegation flies to Cairo to continue hostage deal talks as families decry ‘Philadelphi spin’

Amid escalating tensions in Israel’s north, a negotiation team landed in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday afternoon to continue the ongoing negotiations over a hostage release deal and a truce between Israel and Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Although the current round of talks began with high hopes, with U.S. mediators, in particular, expressing optimism about the prospects for success, recent weeks have seen discussions stall over the issue of Israel's presence in the Philadelphi Corridor.

Egypt’s concerns over the IDF’s presence on its border with Gaza will be the main topic of the talks between CIA Director Bill Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and high-ranking Egyptian officials on Sunday.

Israel’s delegation is again being led by Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, according to The Times of Israel (TOI). They arrived in Cairo just one day after a Hamas delegation left after receiving updates from Egyptian and Qatari officials.

On Saturday, an Egyptian source close to the negotiations was cited by the Saudi newspaper "A-Sharq Al-Awsat" claiming there was a breakthrough after Egypt had insisted on Israeli withdrawals from the border.

An Israeli official told TOI that Egypt had agreed to a proposal that would see Israeli troops withdraw from some, but not all of its positions on the border.

On the other hand, the Saudi Al Hadath channel reported on Sunday that Cairo still refuses to allow any permanent Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, and had demanded that Israel withdraw from the Rafah border crossing during the first days of a truce.

Some of the hostage families that have been the most critical of the government, including Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is still being held hostage in Gaza, attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his refusal to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor.

“It’s not the Philadelphia Corridor, it’s a Philadelphi spin,” Zangauker charged during a protest in front of the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening.

“This is the 323rd day that our loved ones are in captivity, in hell in Gaza. My Matan was kidnapped alive, and it is still possible to save him and bring them all back,” she said.

“We are on the eve of a summit meeting in Cairo, and it seems that this is the last chance: either there will be a deal or we will descend into escalation.”

Zangauker also turned to U.S. President Joe Biden for assistance.

“We need you to exert every possible pressure that will lead to a breakthrough and closing the deal this week. And if Netanyahu continues to torpedo the chance of returning the hostages - the public in Israel and the families should know that. Reveal the truth,” she demanded.

According to TOI, the U.S. has been pushing Israel to quickly agree to a deal to prevent a larger conflict from breaking out. The Axios news outlet reported that Biden pushed Netanyahu to agree to withdraw from Philadelphi, and that the prime minister had made partial concessions.

However, the final word still lies with Hamas, which is widely believed to reject any Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip under the truce deal, including in the Philadelphi Corridor.

The Israeli official told TOI that Israel was less optimistic than the U.S. that Hamas will agree in the end, but would be open to continuing the talks.