Gaza delegations head for Egypt for talks

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Delegations of two Palestinian resistance groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad left the Gaza Strip on Monday for Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials.

The talks will tackle a host of issues, including a recent Israeli military escalation in Gaza and truce understandings with Israel, a Palestinian security source said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

He said the Hamas delegation is headed by group political chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhalah is expected to join the talks in Egypt later Monday, the source said.

Last month, Israeli forces killed a top commander of Islamic Jihad group, triggering two days of violence that killed at least 34 Palestinians.

For months, Egypt, Qatar and UN have been holding shuttle diplomacy aimed at reaching a truce between resistance factions and Israel, achieving Palestinian reconciliation and ending Israel's 13-year blockade on the Gaza Strip.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara