Egypt trying to broker broad Israel-Hamas truce, Hamas says
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Egypt is trying to broker a broad cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers that is to pave the way for Gaza's reconstruction and an eventual prisoner swap, senior Hamas officials said Thursday.
Repeated cease-fire deals over the years collapsed, but there were signs of possible momentum toward a new agreement, after weeks of escalation along the Gaza-Israel frontier.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to put off a trip to South America to keep an eye on the situation in Gaza, a government official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
Separately, a high-level Hamas delegation planned to enter Gaza later Thursday after holding talks in Cairo, said the Palestine Information Center, a Hamas-linked website.
