Egypt Asks US To Guarantee Israel Will Not Attack Hamas Leaders Abroad

Illustration of Hamas. (Wikimedia Commons/Hoheit (Come on!))

JAKARTA - Egypt is asking for guarantees from the United States that Israel will not attack the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas who are abroad, according to several sources.

Egypt's request comes after an Israeli attack on Tuesday aimed at Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, which is Washington's close ally and the location of the largest US military base in the Middle East.

Egypt, Qatar and Turkey have in recent days discussed the best ways to provide protection for Hamas leaders exiled from possible Israeli attacks, the sources said.

This discussion was triggered by intelligence information that reached the three countries, Israel plans to attack senior Hamas figures inside and outside Gaza as part of its war goal to destroy the group.

As part of the negotiations, Egypt is considering providing home to the three or four supreme leaders of the Hamas group involved in indirect negotiations with Israel to end the Gaza war.

Among the proposed names for possible relocation to Cairo are senior officials Zaher Jabareen, Nazar Awadallah, and Hossam Badran.

"The goal is to secure negotiations as Israel sends a clear message to everyone that no one in the Arab world can stop it from doing whatever it wants," one source told The National.

"Israel told everyone there is no limit to what it can do," he continued.

There has been no response from Washington to Egypt's request, but according to these sources, Egypt's request has a great opportunity to receive a positive response from President Donald Trump's administration.

The White House said late Tuesday that President Trump was unhappy with Israel's decision to attack exiled Hamas leaders in Qatar.

"I'm not happy with the whole situation," President Trump told reporters separately.

"We want the hostages (Israel) back, but we are not happy with what happened today," he added.

Hamas said six people were killed in the attack, including the group's son and aide to chief negotiator Khalil Al Hayya. However, his senior leaders survived.

The sources said several Hamas leaders might have been injured in the attack, but no one was seriously injured.

Egypt, Qatar and the US, have tried, but failed, to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza since the last ceasefire failed in March. This is the second pause in the war that began in October 2023.

"Gaza negotiations have been frozen," an official who was directly involved in the negotiations said on Wednesday.

"There is currently no prospect to continue," he added.

The latest proposal to end the war came from Trump. It is planned to call on Hamas to release all the 20 hostages, among which it is believed to be still alive and around 28 are bodies detained in Gaza on the first day of the ceasefire.

He also wants Hamas to hand over his underground weapons and tunnel networks and stop recruiting new fighters, according to the source.

Meanwhile, Hamas said it would not give up its weapons before Israel withdrew from Gaza, where more than 64,650 Palestinians were killed in Israeli warfare, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.