Gaza war: Hamas and Israel teams leave Egypt amid 'ongoing' mediation efforts

A Hamas official on Thursday (May 9) accused Israel of carrying out incursions in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah in order to block talks, which are aimed at finalising a truce in the ongoing Gaza war.

In a statement, Ezzat al-Rishq said that Israel's military operations in Rafah and its border crossing "aim to obstruct the efforts of the mediators". He further added that Hamas, however, was still committed to "accepting the (ceasefire) proposal presented by the mediators".

Meanwhile, Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News reported that Hamas and Israeli negotiators left Cairo Thursday "after a two-day round of negotiations" for the truce.

Citing a high-level Egyptian source, the media outlet reported that the efforts by Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators "are ongoing to bring the two sides' points of view closer".

Amid truce talks, a heavy plume of smoke was seen coming out of northern Gaza on Thursday shortly before humanitarian aid was airdropped into the area.

In a report by the news agency reuters, footage filmed from southern Israel showed several destroyed buildings including a mosque.Nearby in southern Israel, Israeli soldiers and tanks were deployed.

UK calls for 'clear plan' for Rafah

On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron issued a message to Israel, stating that the United Kingdom will not back the Rafah operation "without a clear plan to save lives".

Cameron indicated that the UK would not follow the United States in warning Israel that it would halt sales of arms that could be used in an assault on the Gaza city of Rafah.

While speaking to the reporters after a speech in which he urged NATO partners to boost defence spending that there was "a very fundamental difference" between the UK and the US.

He said, "The US is a massive state supplier of weapons to Israel. We do not have a UK government supply of weapons to Israel, we have a number of licences, and I think our defence exports to Israel are responsible for significantly less than one per cent of their total.

"That is a big difference," Cameron added.

Aid departs from Cyprus

Cyprus' foreign minister said that a shipment of humanitarian aid left a port in Cyprus on Thursday morning and was on its way to the US-built pier in Gaza. It was the first delivery to the newly built ramp.

The officials said that the US-flagged Sagamore left the port of Larnaca in the morning. US officials have said the vessel will be used to offload supplies onto a floating pier built to expedite aid into the besieged enclave.

Watch:US halts weapons shipment to Israel amid concern over Rafah invasion

Cyprus opened a sea channel in March to send aid directly to Gaza, where land deliveries have been severely hampered by border closures and Israel's military operation.

The US military has been constructing a temporary pier to boost aid deliveries to Gaza. The Pentagon said on April 29 that cost of the construction will cost Washington at least $320 million.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists, "That's about our rough estimate right now, approximately $320 million." Singh added, "That's an initial cost for the temporary pier."

Once the pier is constructed, aid will be transported via commercial vessels to a floating platform miles off the Gaza coast. After that, it will be transferred to smaller vessels, brought to the pier and taken to land by truck for distribution.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)