Gaza Truce Talks Egypt

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.

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.

Egypt has said Hamas and Israel must show "flexibility" if they are to strike a deal for a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange in the seven-month war in the Gaza Strip, according to a foreign ministry statement released Friday.

The Israeli army will continue its operation in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah "as planned," after the talks on the Israel-Hamas truce held in Egypt's Cairo collapsed, an Israeli official told the media.

Egypt is hosting delegations from Hamas, Israel, Qatar and the US in Cairo with the aim of reaching a "comprehensive truce" in the Gaza Strip.

Israel carried out strikes on the Gazan city of Rafah overnight as it sought to put "pressure" on Hamas ahead of talks in Egypt on Tuesday aimed at sealing a truce proposal endorsed by the Palestinian group.

Hamas negotiators began intensified talks on Saturday on a possible Gaza truce that would see the return to Israel of some hostages, a Hamas official told Reuters, with the CIA director present in Cairo.

US top diplomat Antony Blinken said Monday he was "hopeful" Hamas would accept the latest proposal for a long-sought Gaza truce and hostage release deal as negotiators from the Palestinian group were due in Egypt.

Delegations from Hamas, Qatar, and the United States have arrived in Egypt for "a new round of negotiations" toward a truce in the Gaza war, state-linked Al-Qahera News reported Sunday.

Hamas was expected to release a second group of Israelis on Saturday under a deal to allow an exchange of 50 hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and Egypt indicated the four-day truce could be extended by one or two days.

Israel on Sunday agreed to an Egyptian proposed truce with Palestinian terrorists in Gaza after three days of intense conflict, an Egyptian source said, as Islamic Jihad reported talks toward a ceasefire were underway.

Palestinian factions met in Cairo on Wednesday for two days of talks aimed at mending a rift that could threaten Egyptian-mediated negotiations to turn the Gaza ceasefire into a lasting truce.

Indirect talks between Israelis and Palestinians on consolidating the Gaza truce are set to resume in Cairo Wednesday, two days after new reconciliation negotiations between Fatah and Hamas, officials said.

Israeli air strikes killed at least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and militants kept up their rocket fire on southern Israel on Monday, witnesses and officials said, as Egypt pressed on with efforts to broker a durable truce.

An Israeli air strike killed two Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday as militants kept up rocket fire, a day after an Egyptian call for an open-ended ceasefire to enable new truce talks.

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.

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.

Egypt has said Hamas and Israel must show "flexibility" if they are to strike a deal for a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange in the seven-month war in the Gaza Strip, according to a foreign ministry statement released Friday.

The Israeli army will continue its operation in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah "as planned," after the talks on the Israel-Hamas truce held in Egypt's Cairo collapsed, an Israeli official told the media.

Egypt is hosting delegations from Hamas, Israel, Qatar and the US in Cairo with the aim of reaching a "comprehensive truce" in the Gaza Strip.

Israel carried out strikes on the Gazan city of Rafah overnight as it sought to put "pressure" on Hamas ahead of talks in Egypt on Tuesday aimed at sealing a truce proposal endorsed by the Palestinian group.

Hamas negotiators began intensified talks on Saturday on a possible Gaza truce that would see the return to Israel of some hostages, a Hamas official told Reuters, with the CIA director present in Cairo.

US top diplomat Antony Blinken said Monday he was "hopeful" Hamas would accept the latest proposal for a long-sought Gaza truce and hostage release deal as negotiators from the Palestinian group were due in Egypt.

Delegations from Hamas, Qatar, and the United States have arrived in Egypt for "a new round of negotiations" toward a truce in the Gaza war, state-linked Al-Qahera News reported Sunday.

Hamas was expected to release a second group of Israelis on Saturday under a deal to allow an exchange of 50 hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and Egypt indicated the four-day truce could be extended by one or two days.

Israel on Sunday agreed to an Egyptian proposed truce with Palestinian terrorists in Gaza after three days of intense conflict, an Egyptian source said, as Islamic Jihad reported talks toward a ceasefire were underway.

Palestinian factions met in Cairo on Wednesday for two days of talks aimed at mending a rift that could threaten Egyptian-mediated negotiations to turn the Gaza ceasefire into a lasting truce.

Indirect talks between Israelis and Palestinians on consolidating the Gaza truce are set to resume in Cairo Wednesday, two days after new reconciliation negotiations between Fatah and Hamas, officials said.

Israeli air strikes killed at least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and militants kept up their rocket fire on southern Israel on Monday, witnesses and officials said, as Egypt pressed on with efforts to broker a durable truce.

An Israeli air strike killed two Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday as militants kept up rocket fire, a day after an Egyptian call for an open-ended ceasefire to enable new truce talks.