Gaza City:
Hamas representatives will go to Cairo on Saturday for talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza, an official of the Palestinian militant group told AFP on Friday.
“A Hamas delegation will go to Cairo tomorrow for several meetings with Egyptian officials to discuss ideas for a ceasefire and a prisoner agreement in the Gaza Strip,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
The announcement came two days after a ceasefire took effect between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas.
The United States also announced a new diplomatic effort with Qatar, Turkey and Egypt to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, which sparked the current fighting.
That attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,207 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed 44,363 people in Gaza, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.
Some 251 hostages were also taken on October 7, of which 97 are still in Gaza, including 34 people who the Israeli army says are dead.
The only ceasefire to date, in November 2023, saw around 100 hostages released by Hamas and its allies in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have led several failed attempts since the start of the year to broker a new ceasefire and release hostages.
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