Hamas delegation to visit Egypt over Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal

Mediators have intensified efforts to seal a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel as Israel threatens to raid the Palestinian border city of Rafah.

Palestinian children stand in a camp for displaced people in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip by the border with Egypt. Source: Getty / AFP

Key Points

• A Hamas delegation will travel to Cairo to discuss a ceasefire proposal by Israel.
• An Israeli airstrike targeted the al-Nusairat refugee camp.
• Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas says he expects an attack on Rafah in the coming days.

A Hamas delegation will visit Cairo for talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, a Hamas official said, as mediators stepped up efforts to reach a deal ahead of an expected Israeli assault on the southern Gazan city of Rafah.

The official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the delegation will discuss a ceasefire proposal handed by Hamas to mediators from Qatar and Egypt, as well as Israel's response.

He did not disclose details of the latest proposals.

Another senior Hamas official told Reuters the delegation will fly to Cairo from Qatar's capital Doha, adding it will be led by Khalil Al-Hayya, deputy to Hamas' Gaza chief.

The talks will take place between the Hamas delegation and Qatari and Egyptian mediators to discuss remarks the group has made over the Israeli response to its recent proposal.

"Hamas has some questions and inquiries over the Israeli response to its proposal, which the movement received from mediators on Friday," the official told Reuters.

The comments suggest that Hamas may not hand an instant response to mediators over Israel's latest proposal. Earlier rounds of talks have failed to bridge gaps in the two sides' positions.

Hamas wants an accord for a permanent end to the war and for Israel to pull its forces out of the Gaza Strip.

Children walk in a camp for displaced people in Rafah amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Source: Getty / AFP

Israel has only offered a temporary ceasefire to free around 130 hostages remaining in captivity and to allow the delivery of more humanitarian aid.

It has said it won't end its operations until it has achieved its aim of destroying Hamas.

Israel's foreign minister said a planned incursion into Rafah, where more than one million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, could be put off should a deal emerge to release the Israeli hostages.

The issue has created cracks in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition.

Hawkish ministers insist on the Rafah incursion while centrist partners have said a hostage deal is the top priority.

Hardline nationalist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Netanyahu not to back down from an assault on Rafah and said that agreeing to the ceasefire proposal would constitute a humiliating defeat.

Western countries, including Israel's closest ally the United States, have urged Israel to refrain from attacking the border city due to concern over potential civilian casualties.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said he expected an attack on Rafah in coming days, saying even a "small strike" would force the Palestinian population to flee the Gaza Strip.

"The biggest catastrophe in the Palestinian people's history would then happen."