Senior officials from rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas are meeting in Cairo to discuss the formation of a committee to manage Gaza’s post-war governance, an Egyptian security source was quoted as saying by Egyptian Al television on Saturday. Qahera News.

The talks are part of Egypt’s broader mediation efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas and to expand humanitarian access to the enclave.

Leaders of Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction met in Cairo last month to discuss forming the committee based on a proposal put forward by Egypt, but the talks were adjourned for a subsequent discussion, sources close to the talks told Reuters.

The sources said the committee would be made up of independent Palestinian figures not aligned with any particular movement, addressing the question of who would rule Gaza after the end of the year-long war.

Israel rejects any role for Hamas in Gaza after the war ends and has said it also does not trust Abbas’s rival Palestinian Authority to rule the enclave.

Mediators, including Egypt and Qatar, with US support, have so far failed to secure a truce that would end the war in Gaza and facilitate the release of detained Israeli and foreign hostages. by Hamas, as well as thousands of Palestinians detained by Israel.

Hamas is pushing for an end to hostilities while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will continue until Hamas is dismantled.

Hamas politician Izzat al-Risheq rejected proposals for limited or temporary truces, calling them “smokescreens.”

“We are positively open to any proposal or idea guaranteeing the cessation of aggression and the withdrawal of the occupying forces from Gaza,” al-Risheq said in a statement.

The conflict continues to exact a heavy humanitarian toll, with medics reporting that five Palestinians were killed Saturday in an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza.

Palestinian health officials said at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip since Friday.

The war broke out after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli counts.

Israel’s retaliatory offensives have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and reduced most of Gaza to rubble.