Egypt to host new round of negotiations on Gaza ceasefire

CAIRO -- A new round of negotiations on reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will kick off in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Thursday, according to Egyptian media outlets.

Egypt's al-Qahera News TV channel reported that Cairo will host a new round of negotiations under Egyptian-Qatari sponsorship, with the goal of bringing calm to the Gaza Strip and releasing Palestinian prisoners and Israeli detainees.

Egypt urged all parties to show the necessary flexibility to reach calm in the war-torn territory, the channel quoted an official Egyptian source as saying.

Egypt and Qatar announced on Tuesday that they had received the response of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on a Gaza ceasefire proposal nailed during a recent meeting in France.

Last November, Egypt, Qatar, and the United States mediated a temporary truce lasting for a week between Israel and Hamas, during which dozens of Israeli and Palestinian detainees were exchanged.

Israel launched a massive military offensive against Hamas in Gaza after Hamas' surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 Israelis.

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 27,708 since the onset of the conflict, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Wednesday.