'Gaza ceasefire talks to resume on Wednesday in Cairo'

Cairo, Aug 18
Negotiations on a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip will reportedly resume on Wednesday in Cairo.

The delegations of the three mediators -- Egypt, Qatar, and the US -- and Israel's delegation will attend the talks scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Egyptian sources, who required anonymity.

Meanwhile, representatives from Egypt, the US, and Israel are currently still in Doha, which hosted the recent ceasefire negotiations earlier this week, to discuss "the technical points" of the ceasefire agreement in preparation for the talks in Cairo, said the sources.

In Doha, officials from the four countries engaged in intensive talks with the aim of concluding an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza, including the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees.

The three mediators announced in a joint statement on Friday that a "bridging proposal" had been presented to Hamas and Israel, which is consistent with the principles of UN Security Council Resolution No. 2735 that calls for an "immediate, comprehensive, and thorough" ceasefire in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden said Friday that a ceasefire deal in the Middle East is "closer than ever", but noting that "we're not there yet."

Cairo, Doha, and Washington mediated a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas that ended in late November 2023. However, subsequent mediation efforts over the past few months have not yielded ideal results.

The ongoing Israeli military operations on Gaza since October 7, 2023, have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and injured over 92,500 others, according to an update released by Gaza's health authorities on Saturday.