CAIRO, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A new U.S.-backed proposal has created a "major breakthrough" in stalled Gaza ceasefire talks, proposing a shift from Hamas disarmament to weapons storage, which Hamas accepted but Israel rejected, Egyptian sources told Xinhua on Tuesday.
According to the sources, the breakthrough came after Nickolay Mladenov, high representative of the U.S.-led Board of Peace for Gaza, proposed that negotiations with Hamas focus on the storage of weapons rather than disarmament.
Mladenov's proposal also included allowing Hamas to participate in Gaza's administration without excluding it entirely, which Hamas accepted but Israel rejected, the sources said, adding that the Hamas delegation came to Cairo on Tuesday to discuss Mladenov's new proposals with the Egyptian side.
The development came as Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad and his Turkish counterpart Ibrahim Kalin met with a Hamas delegation in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, Egypt's state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV reported.
Rashad and Kalin met with senior Hamas leaders, including Khaled Meshaal, Khalil al-Hayya and Mohammad Hassan, it added.
The negotiations were "positive," with strong optimism over completing the implementation of the U.S.-proposed peace plan for Gaza, while Hamas officials affirmed their full support for implementing the plan and removing all relevant obstacles, according to the report.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye, took effect on Oct. 10, 2025. Its first phase included an exchange of prisoners and detainees between the two sides, the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from some areas of Gaza.
The United States announced in mid-January the start of the second phase, which focuses on Gaza's demilitarization, reconstruction, transitional governance, and full Israeli withdrawal.
Gaza's health authorities said on Tuesday that eight people were killed and 26 others injured in the enclave over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,053 since the ceasefire took effect.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 73,066 Palestinians and wounded 173,514 others, the authorities said. ■
