Leaked or possibly fabricated stories have circulated about the behind-the-scenes indirect talks between Hamas and Israeli delegations in Sharm El-Sheikh. These talks aimed to agree on the terms of US President Donald Trump’s plan to ceasefire in Gaza and establish peace.

According to sources close to the talks, the negotiation process was far from easy and nearly stalled at certain moments. The Israeli delegation’s stubbornness and insistence on maximizing gains without significant concessions made the negotiations more difficult and exhausting.

Undoubtedly, Trump’s strong backing of the negotiations helped initiate them, and his personal envoys Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner accelerated progress.

In the immediate details, round-the-clock efforts were made to “triumph the will of peace over war,” as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi expressed after announcing the agreement.

Head of Egyptian General Intelligence Service Hassan Mahmoud Rashad

Key Forces

At the heart of the scenes, the Egyptian General Intelligence Service played a remarkable silent role, entrusted by El-Sisi as the most experienced state institution on this highly sensitive and complex file, with close relations to all involved parties without exception.

Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, head of Egyptian intelligence, was present and closely monitoring every detail, from negotiations to securing delegations, handled by elite, rarely seen forces bearing the “GIS” logo (General Intelligence Service).

Active presence was also noted of Ahmed Abdel Khaleq, the Palestinian file official in the agency, who has strong ties with all Palestinian factions.

Additionally, high-level officials from Qatar, represented by Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim, and Turkey, represented by Intelligence Director Ibrahim Kalin, worked alongside Washington and Cairo in harmony, playing a pivotal role in the success of this joint mediation effort.

Ingenious Engineering

The negotiation sessions were meticulously engineered, with preparatory meetings held over Monday and Tuesday, and precisely organized bilateral and group meetings serving the final goal.

Committees of specialists and experts were also formed to support the negotiation process.

The extended session on the third and final day, attended by senior officials, finalized pending or deferred issues, leading hours later to the announcement of the agreement early Thursday morning.

Present at that session were the Qatari Prime Minister, the heads of Egyptian and Turkish intelligence, and the US President’s envoys.

Before the announcement, news of progress in negotiations was reported to the Egyptian President, who then invited Trump to attend the signing ceremony if an agreement was reached.