ANTALYA: Egypt's foreign minister said on Friday Cairo was hopeful that talks initiated by Qatar could agree on a ceasefire in Gaza before the start of Ramadhan.
Gaza truce talks have been taking place in Paris since last week in what appears to be the most serious push for weeks to halt the fighting in the Palestinian enclave between Israeli forces and Hamas activists and to secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages.
"I can say that we have reached a point of understanding, we will still exert every effort with our brothers in Qatar and the US and others close to the negotiations. We are hopeful that we can reach a cessation of hostilities and exchange of hostages," Minister Sameh Shoukry said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkiye.
"Everyone recognises that we have a time limit to be successful before the start of Ramadan," he said. A proposed deal from the start of Ramadhan on March 10 and 11 includes a 40-day pause in all military operations and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages at a ratio of 10 to one, a senior source close to the talks said on Tuesday.
"We will continue to strive in collaboration with the United Nations, with our partners to relieve the suffering of the Gazan people and to increase the level (of aid). Practically, this cannot happen without the cessation of hostilities," Shoukry said.
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