By Mostafa Habboush and Hani al-Shaer
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – A delegation of Palestinian group Hamas set out for Cairo from the blockaded Gaza Strip on Saturday to hold talks with Egyptian officials.
A statement by the media office of the Rafah border crossing reported the departure of the Hamas delegation, without giving further details.
The delegation includes Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas deputy leader in Gaza, and other leading members, a Palestinian source close to Hamas said.
In mid-August, Palestinian factions met with Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss proposals for Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, a ceasefire with Israel, and the implementation of humanitarian projects in Gaza.
Last October, Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo that would — if implemented — allow the Ramallah-based Palestinian government to administer Gaza, which has been run by Hamas since 2007.
The agreement, however, has yet to come into effect due to a host of deep-seated differences — some of them ideological — between the two rival factions.