CAIRO, Jun 8: Talks on advancing the fragile Gaza ceasefire have begun in Cairo between mediators and Palestinian factions, a Palestinian source familiar with the meeting told AFP.
The discussions, which started Sunday and are set to resume Monday, come as violence continues to plague the territory despite the truce in place since October.
The talks bring together mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, along with representatives of several Palestinian factions, as efforts continue to push forward negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
According to the source, mediators were due to meet a Hamas delegation before midday on Monday, followed by a wider meeting including all participating factions.
Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News channel said Sunday's talks focused on "the proposed roadmap for completing the implementation of the agreement".
"It was held in a positive atmosphere," the channel reported, adding that there was agreement on the need to continue implementing US President Donald Trump's plan.
The talks come amid rising regional tensions, after Israel and Iran traded fire on Monday, in a serious test of another fragile truce and a potential threat to hopes for a deal to end the wider Middle East war.
Despite the Gaza truce technically in effect since October, daily violence has rocked the territory, over half of which is under Israeli military control in defiance of the ceasefire's terms.
The first phase of the ceasefire involved the release of the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.
Reuters adds, Israeli strikes killed four Palestinians, including a child, in the Gaza Strip on Monday, health officials there said, as Israel's military expanded the area under its control, according to residents.
The reports came as mediators in Cairo said they were pressing on with efforts to salvage a fragile US-brokered ceasefire deal that has ended major clashes but left many key points unresolved.
Medics said two people were killed when an Israeli strike hit near a tent encampment in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the south of the enclave. "AGENCIES
