Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for talks on a ceasefire with IsraelThe leader of Hamas visited Egypt on Wednesday as hopes grew that Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group may be inching toward another truce and hostage release deal in the Gaza war. The Qatar-based Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Cairo for discussions on the "aggression in the Gaza Strip and other matters", the group said in a statement. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel began a campaign of bombardment, and then a ground invasion, that Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says have killed 19,667 people, mostly women and children. The United States, while strongly backing Israel, has also urged it to protect civilians in Gaza. The United States announced a new multinational naval task force on Monday to protect the waterway, through which more than 10 percent of global trade transits.
