Egyptian intelligence chief visits Israel amid Gaza ceasefire talks

Egypt’s intelligence chief Hassan Rashad visited Israel on Tuesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid negotiations on the future phases of the Gaza ceasefire deal and the implementation of it.

The meeting, which took place in Jerusalem, centred on the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s truce plan between Israel and Hamas.

Rashad and Netanyahu discussed bilateral relations and other regional issues, a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

According to Israeli media reports, the Egyptian intelligence chief also met with his Israeli counterpart, Shin Bet chief David Zini.

Local Egyptian media stated that Rashad’s talks in Israel will focus on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which comes as Palestinians decry the lack of emergency assistance entering the Strip.

Gaza’s government media office has denounced Israel’s policy of starvation and collective punishment, stating that since the start of the truce on 10 October, only 986 trucks have entered Gaza, falling short of the 6,600 trucks that should have entered by Monday, and which are the bare minimum to keep Gaza alive.

Israel accuses Hamas of violating the truce by not returning the remaining bodies of captives; however, the Palestinian group maintains that it is struggling to locate and retrieve the bodies trapped under the rubble due to the scale of devastation and lack of heavy equipment available.

Israel has refused to open the Rafah crossing, despite aid groups asserting that this is the quickest and most efficient way to let emergency assistance in.

During his trip to Israel, Rashad is also set to meet with the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

The visit marks the first by a senior Egyptian official to Israel since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023.

The talks come as US Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in Israel to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 68,000 Palestinians in Gaza since 2023 and has plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis. The war has been determined to be a genocide by leading rights groups, including Amnesty International.