Cairo, Egypt:
Egypt has said Hamas and Israel must show “flexibility” if they want to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and hostage exchanges in the seven-month war in the Gaza Strip, according to a ministry statement released on Friday of Foreign Affairs.
A telephone conversation between Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken showed that both diplomats agreed on “the importance of urging the parties to show flexibility and make all necessary efforts to reach a “to reach a ceasefire agreement and put an end to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.”
Hamas said early Friday that its negotiators at this week's ceasefire talks in Cairo had left the city for Doha. Israel had “rejected the mediators' proposal and raised objections to it.”
The group added that it supported the proposal, saying that “the ball is now completely in the hands of the occupation.”
State-linked Egyptian news channel Al-Qahera News reported on Thursday that Israeli negotiators had also left Cairo.
The Foreign Ministry statement on Friday said the talks were at a “delicate stage”, with Cairo expressing fears that a large-scale Israeli incursion into Gaza's busy Rafah town, which borders Egypt. could threaten the “stability and security” of the country. region.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that during the same call, Blinken assured Shoukry “that the United States does not support a major military operation in Rafah” and rejects “any forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)