Egypt's chief of general intelligence said on Thursday that Cairo is working to negotiate an agreement on a Gaza cease-fire that involves a prisoner swap between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

On the fringes of the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Abbas Kamel made the remarks in an interview with Israeli journalists Barak Ravid and Nadav Eyal for the US-based Axios news website.

The planned cease-fire includes a long-term cease-fire, a prisoner swap, humanitarian supplies for Gaza, and reconstruction, according to Kamel.

"Egypt speaks every day to Israel and the Palestinians on several issues, including a potential long-term cease-fire deal in Gaza," Kamel said.

 

Kamel said the prisoner swap deal “should start with the release of elderly Palestinian prisoners and of Palestinian women and teenagers who are in Israeli prisons."

 

In May, an Israeli onslaught in Gaza killed almost 260 Palestinians and injured hundreds more, leaving a massive trail of damage in its wake. Palestinian militant organizations retaliated by firing rockets into Israeli territory, killing at least 13 Israelis.
He also mentioned that the agreement would involve "additional economic and humanitarian actions" for Gazans.

Since 2007, Gaza has been under a strengthened Israeli siege, with most basic goods still subject to severe restrictions.

On the question of Palestinian-Israeli discussions, he stated that Egypt wishes to see the new Israeli administration and the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah engage in some form of political conversation.