A Hamas delegation will arrive in Cairo on Monday, for the latest round of Gaza negotiations as diplomatic efforts intensify with Blinken’s latest visit and Hamas and Israeli concessions.

A Hamas delegation is due Monday in Egypt, where it will respond to Israel’s latest proposal for a long-sought truce in Gaza and hostage release after almost seven months of war.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for months, but a flurry of diplomacy in recent days appeared to suggest a new push towards halting the fighting.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Monday in Saudi Arabia and will also travel to Israel and neighboring Jordan later this week, a State Department official said.

A senior Hamas official said Sunday that the Palestinian group had no “major issues” with the most recent truce plan.

While Israel has pledged to go after Hamas battalions in Rafah despite mounting global concerns, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the government may “suspend” the invasion if an agreement is reached.

An AFP correspondent, witnesses and rescuers reported air strikes overnight on Rafah.

At least 22 people were killed in Rafah, medics and the Civil Defense Agency said Monday, with witnesses telling AFP at least three houses had been hit.

A Hamas source close to the negotiations had told AFP the group “is open to discussing the new proposal positively” and is keen for an agreement.

In Israel, protesters have taken to the streets to urge the government to secure the freedom of the 129 hostages.

‘Irreversible Path’ to Statehood

Hamas has previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire—a condition Israel has rejected.

However, the Axios news website, citing two Israeli officials, reported that Israel’s latest proposal includes a willingness to discuss the “restoration of sustainable calm” after hostages are released.

It is the first time that Israeli leaders have suggested they are open to discussing an end to the war, Axios said.

As diplomatic efforts intensified, Blinken arrived in Riyadh for talks with Arab and European foreign ministers.

His Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said on Sunday that the international community had failed Gazans.

“The situation in Gaza obviously is a catastrophe by every measure—humanitarian, but also a complete failing of the existing political system to deal with that crisis.”

He reiterated that only “a credible, irreversible path to a Palestinian state” will prevent the world from confronting “this same situation” again in the future.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government has rejected calls for  Palestinian statehood.

‘Suspend’ Rafah Invasion

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, appealed at the World Economic Forum meeting for the United States to stop Israel from invading Rafah, which he said would be “the biggest disaster in the history of the Palestinian people.”

Katz, the Israeli Foreign Minister, signaled on Saturday that Israel would be willing to call off an invasion of Rafah if Hamas accepted a deal to release hostages.

UN humanitarian agency OCHA has warned that “famine thresholds in Gaza will be breached within the next six weeks” if massive food aid does not arrive.

The White House said Sunday that a US-made pier meant to boost aid to Gaza will become operational in two to three weeks but cannot replace land routes.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu by phone Sunday and “reviewed ongoing talks to secure the release of hostages together with an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” the White House statement said.

The two leaders “also discussed increases in the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” the statement said, including opening new crossings to northern Gaza, where conditions have been particularly dire.

Jay Deshmukh, with AFP