CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns on Tuesday discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza war, the Egyptian presidency said.

“The president affirmed the Egyptian position rejecting the continuation of military operations in the Gaza Strip,” the presidency said in a statement.

Senior US officials were in the region to push for a ceasefire after Hamas made concessions last week, but the Hamas said a new Israeli assault on Gaza on Monday threatened truce talks at a crucial moment and called for mediators to rein in Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel expands Gaza evacuation zone as intense battles rage

An Egyptian security delegation will head to Doha on Wednesday “on a mission to bring viewpoints closer between Hamas and Israel in order to reach a truce agreement as soon as possible,” Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News cited a senior source as saying.

Egypt and Qatar have been leading mediating efforts in the nine-month war between Israel and Hamas in hopes of ending the fighting and securing the release of Israeli hostages in exchange of Palestinian prisoners.