Egypt has put forth a framework of proposed steps toward ending the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip to relevant parties, Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) said.
Diaa Rashwan, chairman of the SIS, said on Thursday in a statement that the framework, which includes “three successive and linked stages, ending with a ceasefire,” was drafted after Egypt listened to the views of “all parties concerned with it”.
Egypt, upon receiving responses from the parties, would announce the proposal in detail, he added.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, a major Palestinian faction allied with Gaza-ruling Hamas and at war with Israel, sent a delegation to Cairo on Sunday to hold talks with Egyptian officials on the situation in Gaza, according to local media reports.
This came after leaders of Egypt and Israel’s arch-enemy Iran held a phone conversation on the Gaza crisis, and a talk between Hamas representatives and the Egyptian side last week over reaching another truce in Gaza and a hostage swap, Xinhua news agency reported.
Israel has been waging a large-scale military campaign in the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip since October 7 in retaliation for a Hamas surprise attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel.
Palestinian death toll from Israel’s attacks on Gaza reached 21,320, with 55,603 injured, said the Gaza Health Ministry on Thursday.
Israel and Hamas reached a seven-day ceasefire brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the US from November 24 to 30, after which Israel resumed its siege and bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. The truce deal also included a swap of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for some Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.