The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, Palestinian leaders and high-ranking officials from other countries trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are on the guest list for the summit in Riyadh, capital of the world’s biggest crude oil exporter, Ednews reports via The Guardian.
Hamas said on Saturday that it was studying the latest Israeli counterproposal regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza, a day after media reports said a delegation from Egypt, a key mediator in the talks, arrived in Israel in a bid to jump-start stalled negotiations.
Egypt, Qatar and the US have been unsuccessfully trying to seal a new truce deal in Gaza ever since a one-week halt to the fighting in November, when 80 Israeli hostages were exchanged for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
There has been “noticeable progress in bringing the views of the Egyptian and Israeli delegations closer”, said al-Qahera News, which is linked to Egyptian intelligence services.