CAIRO
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in the Egyptian capital Cairo later on Tuesday to discuss latest developments in the Gaza Strip.
Cairo Airport sources said they had received a notice about the arrival of the U.S. Secretary of State later on Tuesday.
They said Kerry is expected to meet with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Shukri made a phone conversation with Kerry on Sunday to discuss the current crisis in the Palestinian territories.
Discussions in the conversation also focused on efforts made by Egypt to bring about a cessation of hostilities in Gaza and also suspend Israel's use of brutal force and unjustified military action in the coastal Palestinian enclave.
On Monday, Egypt proposed an initiative for imposing a ceasefire between Gaza-based resistance factions, on one hand, and Israel, on the other.
The initiative calls on Israel to cease all hostilities in the Gaza Strip, halt any ground operations, and stop targeting civilians, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
It also calls on Gaza-based Palestinian factions to cease all hostilities against Israel, halt rocket fire and cross-border attacks and stop targeting civilians.
The Egyptian initiative also calls for reopening Gaza crossings and facilitating the movement of persons and goods through borders.
Tension has been running high in the Palestinian territories since Israel launched a deadly offensive on Gaza last Monday with the stated aim of halting rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.
At least 187 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1300 others injured in unrelenting Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip since the operation began last Monday.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities in response to the ongoing Israeli attacks.
No Israeli fatalities have been reported thus far.
www.aa.com.tr/en
