CAIRO/ISTANBUL

Egypt’s intelligence chief Hassan Rashad met the Israeli negotiation team headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Cairo to discuss de-escalation efforts in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian media reported Tuesday.

The meeting focused on ceasefire efforts and took place after a Hamas delegation left Cairo on Saturday, as part of indirect negotiations, the Cairo News channel wrote on X.

Brig. Gen. Tarek Al-Akari, an Egyptian strategic affairs expert, told the outlet the meeting reflected Egypt’s “intensified efforts to halt the aggression on Gaza” and described the talks as “serious,” though no details were provided.

The outlet said Monday that the meeting followed a recent Hamas visit to Egypt to reach a ceasefire and continue Egyptian and Qatari mediation efforts to restore calm in Gaza.

No official statements have been issued by Cairo or Tel Aviv on the outcome of the talks. Egypt, Qatar and the US have been mediating efforts to end the war in Gaza.

Hamas said it concluded the Cairo visit April 26 after extensive discussions with Egyptian officials.

Hamas said in December it agreed to an Egyptian proposal to establish a “Community Support Committee” to be an administrator in Gaza. Spokesman Hazem Qassem, however, told Anadolu at the time that the group “does not seek to be part of any administrative arrangements in Gaza.”

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the resistance group, Hamas.

More than 52,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.