Haniyeh to Visit Cairo to Discuss Ceasefire, Gaza Reconstruction

 Destruction in the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent Israeli air strikes. (AFP)
Destruction in the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent Israeli air strikes. (AFP)
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Haniyeh to Visit Cairo to Discuss Ceasefire, Gaza Reconstruction

 Destruction in the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent Israeli air strikes. (AFP)
Destruction in the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent Israeli air strikes. (AFP)

Palestinian Hamas Movement said its Chief Ismail Haniyeh will visit Cairo to hold talks over a lasting ceasefire and rebuilding Gaza.

Hamas has set several conditions to maintain ceasefire, said its spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanou, including halting aggression in Jerusalem, ending the displacement of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and preventing all what could re-incite violence.

He also affirmed that the movement is ready to accept all the offers to reconstruct the enclave as soon as possible.

Another Hamas spokesman, Hamza Qassem, said the scheduled visit comes in line with Cairo’s efforts to curb the Israeli aggression against Palestinians and follow up the reconstruction process.

Haniyeh will head a high-ranking delegation in the few coming days, he added, without specifying a date.

Cairo had intensified its efforts to reach a truce in Gaza and is now leading coordinated efforts with the United State to push forward a new political process in the region that includes comprehensive calm and rebuilding of the Strip.

The US, Egypt, Qatar, the European Union and the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland have also been engaged in talks to rebuild Gaza.

They consider the Palestinian Authority the “legitimate” party to discuss the process with rather than Hamas.

According to Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel will only agree on rebuilding Gaza when a joint mechanism is formed to “prevent Hamas from gaining extra power.”

Ashkenazi presented to his US counterpart a plan to provide aid to Gaza while separating between the “basic humanitarian aid, such as water and electricity” and reconstruction.



Israeli ‘Aggression’ Targets Syria’s Homs Countryside, State News Agency Says

 A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli ‘Aggression’ Targets Syria’s Homs Countryside, State News Agency Says

 A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)
A man rides a motorbike past damaged buildings in Homs, Syria November 7, 2024. (Reuters)

Initial reports indicate that an Israeli "aggression" targeted two villages in northern and western areas of Syria's Homs province, the Syrian state news agency said on Tuesday.

Earlier, Syrian state television said blasts had been heard in the vicinity of Homs city and that the cause was under investigation.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel by Hamas-led fighters.