Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks, Reuters has said.
There are conflicting reports over the Israeli leader’s movements and how close a ceasefire is, but the news agency added, citing sources briefed on the meetings, that a deal is expected to be signed in the coming days.
However, this wouldn’t be the first time there have been positive noises about a potential ceasefire, only for talks to break down.
Meanwhile, Hamas said that a ceasefire deal is possible but only if Israel didn’t set new conditions.
This comes after the number of deaths in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war, according to Palestinian officials, passed 45,000 people this week.
Israeli media outlet Haaretz reported that a spokesperson for the prime minister denied the claims he was headed to Egypt.
Amid the conflicting reports, White House spokesperson John Kirby said, in an interview with Fox News, that they believed the parties were getting closer to the long-awaited ceasefire.
He reportedly said: “We believe – and the Israelis have said this – that we’re getting closer, and no doubt about it, we believe that, but we also are cautious in our optimism.
“We’ve been in this position before where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line.”
Mr Kirby did not respond when asked if Mr Netanyahu was travelling to Cairo for talks.
Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV also refuted claims of Mr Netanyahu’s trip to Egypt, citing an “informed Egyptian source”.
Mr Netanyahu was supposed to originally be in court on Tuesday over his ongoing bribery and fraud trial, but on Monday he was given an exemption for proceedings citing exceptional circumstances – without any details being received.
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