Gaza City:
Hamas representatives will travel 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 travel to Cairo tomorrow for several meetings with Egyptian officials to discuss ideas for a ceasefire and an agreement with prisoners in the Gaza Strip,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
The statement got here two days after a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, got here into force.
The United States also announced latest diplomatic efforts with Qatar, Turkey and Egypt to succeed in a ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages taken throughout the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel that sparked the present fighting.
According to official data from the Israeli agency AFP, 1,207 people, most of them civilians, died in the attack on Israel.
According to data from the territory’s health ministry, which the UN considers credible, 44,363 people died in Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza.
Some 251 hostages were also taken on October 7 and 97 are believed to be still in Gaza, including 34 people whom the Israeli army says are dead.
The only ceasefire to this point, which took place in November 2023, saw Hamas and its allies release about 100 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Since the start of the 12 months, the United States, Qatar and Egypt have made quite a few unsuccessful attempts to succeed in a brand new ceasefire and release the hostages.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
