Senior officials from rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas are meeting in Cairo to discuss the formation of a committee to manage the post-war governance of Gaza, an Egyptian security source said on Saturday, as quoted by Egypt’s Al Qahera News TV.

The talks are part of Egypt’s broader mediation efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group and to expand humanitarian access to the enclave.

Leaders of Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction met in Cairo last month to discuss forming the committee based on a proposal put forward by Egypt, but the talks were postponed for further discussion, sources close to the talks told Reuters.

The sources said the committee would be made up of independent Palestinian figures not aligned to any particular movement, addressing the question of who will rule Gaza after the year-long war ends.

Israel rejects any role for Hamas in Gaza after the war ends and has said it does not trust rival Palestinian Authority Abbas to rule the enclave.

Mediators, including Egypt and Qatar, with the support of the United States, have so far failed to secure a truce that would end the war in Gaza and facilitate the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas, along with thousands of Palestinians held by Israel.

Hamas is pushing for an end to hostilities, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will continue until Hamas is disbanded.

Hamas political official Izzat al-Risheq dismissed the limited or temporary truce proposals as “smoke screens”.

“We are positively open to any proposals or ideas that ensure the cessation of aggression and the withdrawal of the occupying forces from Gaza,” al-Risheq said in a statement.

The conflict continues to take a heavy humanitarian toll, with medics reporting that five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp on Saturday.

Palestinian health officials said at least 60 people were killed in Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip on Friday.

In the latest round of violence, Islamic Jihad, a group of Palestinian fighters allied with Hamas, said it fired rockets late Saturday at Sderot, Mefalsim and other Israeli territories near the Gaza border.

The Israeli military said two projectiles crossed from northern Gaza, landing in an open area but causing no injuries.

The war broke out after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back in Gaza, according to Israeli accounts.

Israel’s retaliatory offensives have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and reduced most of Gaza to rubble.