CAIRO

Contacts between Egypt and Israel are underway to negotiate a cease-fire deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian Al Qahera News quoted sources as saying on Friday. 

Citing an unnamed high-level security source, the news channel said "communication with Israel continues with the aim to reach an agreement for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip."

Qatar, Egypt and the US are trying to reach a hostage swap deal and cease-fire in Gaza since the first pause in fighting that lasted only a week in late November last year.

Hamas demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory for any deal with Tel Aviv.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people and took nearly 250 as hostages.

Besides killing more than 34,000 Palestinians since then, the Israeli military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.

More than 100 of the hostages were released in November as part of the temporary truce that also freed 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. 

Israel has increased its military activities across the enclave and is said to be proceeding with plans for a ground invasion of Rafah in the south, where some 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are taking shelter.  

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul