Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry speaks at a news conference in Moscow, Russia, May 14, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Maxim Shemetov / File.

i24 News – Egypt’s Foreign Minister on Monday said he is “hopeful” about a new proposal for a truce in Gaza as a Hamas delegation was due in Cairo for talks. “There is a proposal on the table [and it is] up to the two sides to consider and accept,” said Sameh Shoukry in Riyadh at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

“We are hopeful,” he added, explaining that “the proposal has taken into account the positions of both sides and has tried to extract moderation. We are waiting to have a final decision. There are factors that will have an impact on both side’s decisions, but I hope that all will rise to the occasion.”

Meanwhile, reports by Financial Times and The New York Times suggest Israel lowered to 33 the number of hostages expected to be released by Hamas in return for ceasefire and release of Palestinian prisoners.

Biden's remark was followed by the Egyptian proposal, cooked by the Americans with Israel's knowledge and silent agreement, without the knowledge of Qatar… The Qataris are counterproductive in the deals,'

Brig. Gen. (ret.) Hanan Gefen discusses the latest deal proposal pic.twitter.com/aL5LDinGm3

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) April 29, 2024

As Egypt, Qatar and the United States continue their efforts as mediators of the Israel-Hamas negotiations, Israeli official told i24NEWS that Israel expected an answer to its latest proposal by Tuesday.

The U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken has called the latest offer “extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous.”