CAIRO, June 8, (V7N) – Talks on advancing the fragile Gaza ceasefire have begun in Cairo between mediators and Palestinian factions, a Palestinian source familiar with the meeting told AFP. The discussions, which started Sunday and are set to resume Monday, come as violence continues to plague the territory despite the truce in place since October.
The talks bring together mediators Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, along with representatives of several Palestinian factions, as efforts continue to push forward negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. According to the source, mediators were due to meet a Hamas delegation before midday Monday, followed by a wider meeting including all participating factions.
Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News channel said Sunday's talks focused on "the proposed roadmap for completing the implementation of the agreement" and were held in a positive atmosphere. The talks come amid rising regional tensions, after Israel and Iran traded fire on Monday, posing a potential threat to hopes for a deal to end the wider Middle East war.
Despite the Gaza truce technically being in effect since October, daily violence has rocked the territory, over half of which is under Israeli military control in defiance of the ceasefire's terms. Israel has killed at least 936 people since the ceasefire began, according to Gaza's health ministry. Both Hamas and Israel accuse each other of violating the truce.
The first phase of the ceasefire involved the release of the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. A transition to the second phase — which was supposed to involve Hamas's disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military — has been stalled for months. The question of Gaza's post-war governance also remains one of the main sticking points in negotiations.
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