During a telephone conversation last night, both leaders urged progress in the process, overcoming obstacles and demonstrating flexibility to seek a truce, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.

According to the communication, the latest developments in the negotiations were discussed during the contact, which should allow an exchange of prisoners while stopping the fighting.

El-Sisi reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire to alleviate the serious humanitarian suffering in Gaza, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, and prevent the conflict from spreading.

Sources close to the negotiations said the Qatari-brokered draft proposes a gradual approach to ending the 15-month-old war in the Gaza Strip. The document includes steps to cease hostilities, facilitate humanitarian aid, and address reconstruction efforts in the conflict-ravaged region.

The details of the deal released say that in the first stage, 33 Israeli prisoners captured by militants in Gaza will be released, most of them alive, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees. In addition, the Israeli army will withdraw from much of the territory it occupies in the Strip. The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is demanding a full withdrawal and an end to the war, an issue that will be negotiated in the following phases.

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