Egypt’s Sissi hosts Qatar leader for Gaza ceasefire talks

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani meet to review “intensive efforts” toward a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, Cairo says.
Both Egypt and Qatar have played a major role in the regional and international response to the war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught in southern Israel.
In Cairo, Sissi and Sheikh Tamim “discussed the Israeli military escalation in the Gaza Strip, and the subsequent regional challenges that push the region in dangerous and uncalculated directions,” the Egyptian presidency says in a statement.
“The two leaders discussed the best ways to protect innocent civilians in Gaza and to stop the bloodshed,” it adds.
“They reviewed the intensive efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire and sustaining the delivery of humanitarian aid in quantities that meet the needs of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
The high-level meeting in Cairo comes ahead of Saturday’s summits in Saudi Arabia where Arab and Muslim leaders are expected to press for an end to more than a month of fighting.
Israel has rejected calls for truce, demanding first that the estimated 239 hostages seized on October 7, who are thought to be held in Gaza, are released.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, who is usually based in Qatar, on Thursday met with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel “for discussions on the current situation in the Gaza Strip,” the terror group said.
Both Egypt and Qatar had been involved in previous talks which led to the release, at the end of October, of two women kidnapped by Hamas during its attack on Israeli territory on October 7.