CAIRO, April 26, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Hamas delegation will meet Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Saturday for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, a senior official from the Palestinian militants told AFP.

"The Hamas negotiating delegation, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, has left for Cairo," senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said Friday.

"It will meet with Egyptian officials tomorrow to discuss Hamas's vision for ending the war," he added, reffirming that that Hamas's weapons "are not up for negotiation".

The renewed bid follows Hamas's rejection this month of Israel's latest proposal to secure the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

The militants said they would not accept a "partial" ceasefire deal and called for a "comprehensive" agreement to halt the war set off by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Talks since Israel resumed its air and ground assault on March 18, after an earlier two-month ceasefire broke down, have not produced a breakthrough.

A Hamas official said on Tuesday that a delegation would meet Egyptian officials to discuss "new ideas" on a ceasefire.

Friday's announcement came as the UN's World Food Programme said it had depleted its food stocks in Gaza.

Qatar, the United States and Egypt brokered one truce which began on January 19 and enabled a surge in aid, alongside exchanges of hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

But it collapsed amid disagreements over the terms of the next stage.

Hamas had insisted that negotiations be held leading to a permanent end to the war, as outlined in the January framework announced by former US president Joe Biden.

Israel, however, sought to extend the terms of the first phase.

At least 2,062 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed its offensive, bringing the total death toll since the war erupted to at least 51,439, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also abducted 251 people, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.