Hamas official says delegation on its way to Cairo for Gaza truce talks

As of Thursday, some 50,886 had died since war erupted on 7 October 2023.

SENIOR HAMAS LEADER are heading to Cairo today for Gaza ceasefire talks with Egyptian mediators.

“We hope the meeting will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza,” the official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

The delegation will be led by the group’s chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, he said.

According to the official, Hamas has not yet received any new ceasefire proposals, despite Israeli media reports suggesting that Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents outlining a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

“However, contacts and discussions with mediators are ongoing,” he added, accusing Israel of “continuing its aggression” in Gaza.

There are 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza who are progressively being squeezed into a smaller amount of land as the bombardment continues.

The United Nations has decried the impact of ongoing strikes on civilians, finding that a large percentage of fatalities from recent strikes are children and women.

Out of 224 Israeli strikes between 18 March, when the two-monht ceasefire ended, and 9 April 2025, 36 strikes killed women and children exclusively.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Thursday that at least 1,522 Palestinians have been killed in the renewed Israeli operations since March 18, taking the overall death toll since the start of the war to 50,886 since war erupted on 7 October 2023.