Egypt Gaza

Israel's Mossad chief is set to visit Qatar to discuss the release of hostages in Gaza, even as Egypt proposed a two-day truce in the Palestinian enclave, as regional tensions simmered.

Egypt has proposed an initial two-day ceasefire in Gaza to exchange four Israeli hostages of Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners, Egypt's president said on Sunday as Israeli military strikes killed 45 Palestinians across the enclave.

Israel said Thursday its spy chief will attend Gaza ceasefire talks and Hamas vowed to stop fighting if a truce is reached, as long-stalled efforts to end the war appeared to gain momentum.

Leaders from Islamist group Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement discussed plans for cooperation after the war in Gaza in a new round of talks in Cairo on Wednesday, a Hamas official told Reuters.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt on Tuesday to discuss a Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages with Egyptian officials, the State Department said.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel will only agree to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza that guarantees the border area between southern Gaza and Egypt could never be used as a lifeline for the Islamist movement Hamas.

Negotiators geared up for a crucial weekend of Gaza ceasefire talks Saturday, as Hamas said it was sending delegates to Cairo but would not participate in the discussions, and fighting raged in the Palestinian territory.

U.S. President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move Israeli troops back from Gaza's border with Egypt as part of an initial phase of a ceasefire deal so that talks could continue, Axios reported on Friday.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken was due to travel to Egypt on Tuesday for talks on a Gaza ceasefire after saying Israel had accepted a US "bridging proposal" for a deal and urging Hamas to do the same.

A new round of Gaza ceasefire talks was underway in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday afternoon, an offical briefed on the meeting told Reuters.

Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. leaders called on Israel and Hamas to resume urgent talks on Aug. 15 either in Doha or Cairo to bridge all remaining gaps in the proposed Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli and Egyptian ceasefire negotiators are in talks about an electronic surveillance system along the border between Gaza and Egypt that could allow Israel to pull back its troops from the area if a ceasefire is agreed.

On October 6, 2023, Palestinian karate champion Mais Elbostami went to bed thrilled after winning a competition in the Gaza Strip. She awoke the next day to a different world.

Rafah residents reported intense artillery shelling and gunfire Thursday in Gaza's far-southern city after Israel said it had seized a strategic corridor on the Palestinian territory's border with Egypt.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday it had gained "operational control" over the strategic Philadelphi corridor along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Israel's Mossad chief is set to visit Qatar to discuss the release of hostages in Gaza, even as Egypt proposed a two-day truce in the Palestinian enclave, as regional tensions simmered.

Egypt has proposed an initial two-day ceasefire in Gaza to exchange four Israeli hostages of Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners, Egypt's president said on Sunday as Israeli military strikes killed 45 Palestinians across the enclave.

Israel said Thursday its spy chief will attend Gaza ceasefire talks and Hamas vowed to stop fighting if a truce is reached, as long-stalled efforts to end the war appeared to gain momentum.

Leaders from Islamist group Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement discussed plans for cooperation after the war in Gaza in a new round of talks in Cairo on Wednesday, a Hamas official told Reuters.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt on Tuesday to discuss a Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages with Egyptian officials, the State Department said.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel will only agree to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza that guarantees the border area between southern Gaza and Egypt could never be used as a lifeline for the Islamist movement Hamas.

Negotiators geared up for a crucial weekend of Gaza ceasefire talks Saturday, as Hamas said it was sending delegates to Cairo but would not participate in the discussions, and fighting raged in the Palestinian territory.

U.S. President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move Israeli troops back from Gaza's border with Egypt as part of an initial phase of a ceasefire deal so that talks could continue, Axios reported on Friday.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken was due to travel to Egypt on Tuesday for talks on a Gaza ceasefire after saying Israel had accepted a US "bridging proposal" for a deal and urging Hamas to do the same.

A new round of Gaza ceasefire talks was underway in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday afternoon, an offical briefed on the meeting told Reuters.

Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. leaders called on Israel and Hamas to resume urgent talks on Aug. 15 either in Doha or Cairo to bridge all remaining gaps in the proposed Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli and Egyptian ceasefire negotiators are in talks about an electronic surveillance system along the border between Gaza and Egypt that could allow Israel to pull back its troops from the area if a ceasefire is agreed.

On October 6, 2023, Palestinian karate champion Mais Elbostami went to bed thrilled after winning a competition in the Gaza Strip. She awoke the next day to a different world.

Rafah residents reported intense artillery shelling and gunfire Thursday in Gaza's far-southern city after Israel said it had seized a strategic corridor on the Palestinian territory's border with Egypt.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday it had gained "operational control" over the strategic Philadelphi corridor along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.