TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has announced that they will meet with the Egyptian delegation in Cairo on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, to discuss steps toward a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya will lead the delegation in the meeting.
"The delegation has begun preliminary talks ahead of meetings that will start tomorrow, on Wednesday. These talks will focus on ways to end the war in the Gaza Strip, ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and end the suffering of our people in the Strip, as well as intra-Palestinian relations to achieve national consensus," Hamas said in a statement as reported by Antara.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have killed at least 73 Palestinians in Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to medical officials as reported by Aljazeera. In addition, two more people, including a six-year-old child, have died from Israel-induced starvation in the coastal enclave.
Those killed on Tuesday included 19 aid seekers, while the European Union and 26 countries, including Canada, France, and the UK, condemned the "unimaginable levels" of suffering in Gaza and called for immediate action to stop and alleviate the ongoing famine in the war-torn region.
New Rounds of Ceasefire Talks
Earlier this week, it was reported that Hamas sent its delegation to Cairo to discuss the resumption of Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
On July 24, the United States and Israel withdrew their delegations from Doha, Qatar, citing Hamas' lack of willingness to reach a ceasefire deal.
However, Hamas emphasized its commitment to overcome obstacles and secure the ceasefire agreement.
The following day on July 25, Egypt and Qatar issued a joint statement stating that progress had been made in the latest round of ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel.
In a separate development, Egypt said that they are working with fellow Gaza mediator Qatar and the United States to mediate a 60-day ceasefire, as part of a new push to end Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty made the announcement at a press conference in Cairo, as reported by Arab News.
Diplomacy aimed at securing a ceasefire and a hostage release agreement, which has been elusive in this 22-month-long hostilities, has been stalled for weeks after the last round of negotiations failed in July.
Abdelatty said, "We are working very hard now in full cooperation with Qataris and Americans," with the goal of "a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions."
Earlier, a Palestinian source said that the mediators were trying to "formulate a new comprehensive ceasefire agreement proposal" to include the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza "in one batch."
Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States have failed to make a breakthrough since the brief ceasefire earlier this year.
Israel Intensifies Onslaught on Gaza
News of potential ceasefire negotiations emerged as the civil defense agency of Gaza said that Israel has intensified its airstrikes on Gaza City in recent days following the government's decision to expand the war there.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has yet to give a definite schedule for when the forces will enter the area. However, Gaza's civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said on Tuesday that the airstrikes have begun to intensify over the past three days.
Bassal said the Zeitun and Sabra areas have been hit by "very heavy airstrikes targeting civilian homes."
“For the third consecutive day, the Israeli occupation is intensifying its bombardment” using “bombs, drones, and also highly explosive munitions that cause massive destruction,” he said.
Bassal said Israel's attacks across the territory, including in Gaza City, killed at least 33 people on Tuesday.
“The bombardment has been extremely intense for the past two days. With every strike, the ground shakes,” said Majed Al-Hosary, a resident of Zeitun in Gaza City.
“There are martyrs under the rubble that no one can reach because the shelling hasn’t stopped.”
Al Jazeera Crew Killed in Israeli Strike
Israel's airstrikes on Sunday killed five Al Jazeera crew members and a freelance reporter outside a hospital in Gaza City. Israel claimed, without evidence, that one of the slain Al Jazeera correspondents, Anas Al-Sharif, was a Hamas militant.
In 2024, Anas Al-Sharif received a Pulitzer Prize together with the Reuters team for coverage of the genocide in Gaza.
Israel has faced mounting condemnation for its genocide in Gaza since October 2023.
UN-supported experts have warned of widespread famine in the area, where Israel has drastically reduced the amount of humanitarian aid allowed to enter since March 2.
Netanyahu is under increasing pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages—49 people, including 27 whom the Israeli military says have been killed—and for his plans to expand the war.
Israeli attacks since October 2023 have killed at least 61,599 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry, a casualty figure deemed reliable by the UN.
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