During the conflict
December 27: The Israeli offensive in Gaza began after a six-month ceasefire between Hamas and Israel ended on December 19. The ceasefire had begun to fray in early November and rocket attacks increased following its expiration.
December 30: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza and accused Hamas of provoking Israeli aggression by refusing to renew the truce.
December 31: Foreign ministers from the Arab League convened in Cairo for an emergency meeting in response to the conflict.
January 5: Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, and other European officials met with Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss humanitarian aid for Palestinians and conditions for a possible ceasefire in Gaza.
January 6: Following meetings with French President Nicholas Sarkozy, Mubarak proposed limited ceasefire periods to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza and to assist Egypt’s efforts to reach a permanent truce.
January 8: Shalom Turgeman, senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defense official, met with Egyptian officials to discuss a roadmap to a ceasefire.
January 10: Egypt ruled out an international force on its border with Gaza as a part of any truce.
January 12: After conferring with their leadership in Syria, Hamas negotiators returned to Cairo to discuss Egyptian ceasefire proposals.
January 15: Gilad returned to Cairo to discuss Egyptian efforts toward a ceasefire.
January 16: Boycotting a summit held in Qatar, Egypt instead attended a meeting of foreign ministers in Kuwait, which adopted a proposal calling for an immediate halt to Israeli aggression, the lifting of the blockade of Gaza and reconstruction of Gaza in coordination with the PA. Israel and the United States also signed an agreement that included a pledge to stem arms smuggling into Gaza.
January 18: Hamas declared a unilateral ceasefire following talks with Egyptian officials hours after an Israeli ceasefire went into effect. Egypt hosted a summit that included Arab, European, Turkish, U.S. and PA representatives, to discuss efforts to solidify the ceasefires.
After the conflict
January 19: At an Arab League economic summit in Kuwait that was dominated by the war in Gaza, Mubarak accused Hamas of inviting Israel’s use of force by not accepting Egyptian efforts to extend the ceasefire.
January 22: Gilad returned to Cairo for discussions on preserving the ceasefire and preventing smuggling into the Gaza.
January 24: Gilad and Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s intelligence chief, discussed increasing the number of Egyptian border guards on the Egypt-Gaza border from 750, as stipulated by the 1979 peace treaty, to 1,500 or as much as 2,250.
January 25: Egyptian officials presented a Hamas delegation with an Israeli proposal for an 18-month ceasefire. Hamas countered with a proposal for a year-long ceasefire and asked for the complete opening of the border crossings. Hamas also rejected the presence of Israeli monitors at borders and proposed Turkish and European monitors.
January 28: Fatah and Hamas representatives met in Cairo to discuss how aid would be distributed to Gaza. U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell concluded two days of meetings in Egypt where he met with, among others, Mubarak and Suleiman.
February 3: Arab foreign ministers met in Abu Dhabi in support of Egyptian mediation efforts. Syria and Qatar were not invited.
February 5: Egyptian officials stopped a Hamas delegation returning from negotiations in Cairo at the Rafah border crossing and found that they were carrying millions in dollars and euros.
February 7: A Hamas delegation, including Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official from Gaza, returned to Cairo to resume ceasefire talks.
February 8: An Egyptian official said that Egypt had destroyed 15 smuggling tunnels and blocked the entrance to several more in the week prior.
February 12: An official said that the Egyptian police arrested 40 alleged smugglers and confiscated approximately $1 million in goods. The official said the crackdown had begun the weekend before.
February 19: Hossam Zaki, spokesman for Egypt’s foreign ministry, criticized Olmert for insisting Israel would not reopen Gaza border crossings until captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was freed.
February 22: Egypt opened the Rafah crossing for three days to allow students, third-country residents and medical patients to leave Gaza. This was its first time open since the end of hostilities in January.
February 26: Ofer Dekel, a senior Israeli negotiator, met with Suleiman in Cairo to talk about a prisoner exchange for the release of Shalit. Representatives from Fatah, Hamas and 12 other Palestinian groups met in Cairo to discuss efforts to form a national unity government and formed five committees to address issues related to its creation. The committees will start work on March 10, when the Palestinian factions meet again in Cairo.
March 2: Egypt hosted a donor conference in Sharm el-Sheikh attended by approximately 70 countries and international organizations who pledged more than $4.4 billion in new funds and recommitted previous funds that had yet to be delivered, bringing the total to $5.2 billion.
March 3: Arab League foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo to discuss several issues including Palestinian reconciliation efforts.
