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A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations is being held in Cairo, Egypt. Differences over Israel's future military presence in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners are hindering the conclusion of a ceasefire and hostage agreement.

According to Reuters, these differences stem from Israel's new demands to keep troops stationed in the Philadelphia Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor after Hamas accepted the ceasefire proposal put forward by US President Biden in May. Hamas believes that Israel changed the negotiation conditions at the "last minute", making any concessions increase the risk of Israel making more demands.

According to Qatari media reports on August 22, the Israeli delegation put forward a new proposal during the negotiations. Israel plans to deploy an international force at several fixed points along the Gaza-Egypt border in the "Philadelphia Corridor", and the Israeli army will gradually withdraw. The "Philadelphia Corridor" is a narrow border strip of about 14 kilometers long between Gaza and Egypt that serves as a military buffer zone. Israel believes that the "Philadelphia Corridor" is a channel for Hamas to smuggle weapons.

However, earlier that day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement, stressing that he would not agree to withdraw the IDF troops from the "Philadelphia Corridor" or to deploy international forces there. Israel's Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu recently criticized the Israeli delegation for being weak in the negotiations and constantly seeking compromises, and that only he insisted on safeguarding Israel's interests. Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel will insist on achieving all of its military goals, including that Gaza will never again pose a security threat to Israel.

Sources said Hamas was particularly concerned about the latest request to deploy troops along the Netzarim Corridor. In its May proposal, Israel said only unarmed civilians would be allowed to cross the Netzarim Corridor to return to northern Gaza. The statement also noted that Israel's new proposal, first presented at a mediation meeting in Rome on July 27, hinted but did not explicitly mention an Israeli military presence in the Netzarim Corridor to prevent the movement of Hamas fighters. According to Reuters, some mediators and Hamas believe that Israel's move is a departure from its previous commitment to withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor and allow free movement inside Gaza.

According to Reuters, a Western diplomat said the United States seemed to have accepted the changes proposed by Netanyahu, including the continued maintenance of military deployment in the two corridors. According to Al Jazeera, the US envoy to the United Nations told the UN Security Council on the 22nd that the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement "is now in sight." A Hamas official said that the transitional proposal put forward by the United States "does not include a permanent ceasefire."

Hamas officials said Hamas proposed to release about 100 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom are elderly and have more than 20 years left to serve. Israel objected and proposed with the United States to exile some Palestinian prisoners outside Gaza or the West Bank in the hostage exchange. Based on this, Hamas refused to accept the US and Israeli proposals.

Xinhua News Agency previously reported that a new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations was held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on August 15, with representatives from Israel, Qatar, the United States and Egypt participating, while the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) was absent. The four countries will continue talks in Cairo before the weekend in order to finalize the agreement.

According to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, the ceasefire proposal put forward by US President Biden in May included that the Gaza Strip would first implement a six-week ceasefire, during which the Israel Defense Forces would withdraw from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip. In addition, humanitarian aid would be "substantially increased" and Israel would exchange Palestinian prisoners for hostages with Hamas. According to the new ceasefire proposal, the Gaza Strip could eventually "cease hostilities" permanently and realize its reconstruction plan.

According to a report by Israel's Channel 12 on the 22nd, Palestinian sources said that Hamas is considering launching an attack on Israelis overseas in retaliation for the assassination of former Hamas Politburo leader Haniyeh. It is not clear whether the target of this action is Israeli civilians or officials.