Cairo

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A delegation of the Palestinian group Hamas landed in Cairo on Saturday to resume talks on a ceasefire deal in Gaza after months of negotiations failed to be fruitful, reported local media.

Egyptian state-linked Al Qahera News Television quoted a high-ranking source as saying that "there is significant progress in the negotiations" between the Palestinian militant group and Israel, and that the Egyptian mediators have "reached an agreed-upon formula on most points of contention."

Palestinian militant group Hamas said on late Friday (May 3) that its delegation would travel to Cairo on Saturday to resume Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel. In a statement, Hamas said, "We emphasise the positive spirit with which the Hamas leadership dealt with the ceasefire proposal it recently received, and we are going to Cairo in the same spirit to reach an agreement."

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"We in Hamas and the Palestinian resistance forces are determined to achieve an agreement that fulfils our people's demands for a complete cessation of the aggression, the withdrawal of the occupation forces, the return of the displaced, relief and reconstruction, and a serious exchange deal," it added.

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Hamas' remarks came as foreign mediators have been waiting for a response from the group to halt the fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

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'Netanyahu is still the obstructionist'

While Hamas has demanded a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to crush its remaining fighters in Rafah. On Friday, a top Hamas official accused Netanyahu of trying to derail a proposed Gaza truce and hostage release deal with his threats to keep fighting the militants, the news agency AFP reported.

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"Netanyahu was the obstructionist of all previous rounds of dialogue... and it is clear that he still is," the official added. 

Rafah offensive could lead to bloodbath: WHO

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Israel's offensive in Rafah could lead to a "bloodbath." In a post on X, WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "WHO is deeply concerned that a full-scale military operation in Rafah, Gaza, could lead to a bloodbath, and further weaken an already broken health system." 

The WHO earlier said that most of Gaza's health facilities have been damaged or destroyed amid heavy Israeli bombardment.

Only 12 of Gaza's 36 hospitals and 22 of its 88 primary health facilities are "partially functional", the UN health agency added. 

(With inputs from agencies)