Within days, Egypt will be hosting talks between the rival Palestinian groups after which indirect negotiations will be held with Israel, state-owned MENA reported on Saturday. MENA quoted an unnamed Egyptian official saying that representatives of both Fatah and Hamas will meet to iron out a Palestinian reconciliation deal on Monday, followed by indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians Wednesday concerning the ceasefire of the 51 day Gaza conflict over this past summer. A Fatah official and head of the Palestinian delegation, Azzam Ahmed, confirmed that the talks will begin this week, according to Aswat Masriya. Ahmed also expects negotiations with the Israelis to begin following the talks. On 7 July, war between Israel and Gaza broke out, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initiated "Operation Protective Edge". The IDF cited the kidnapping of three teenage settlers and an aim of stopping "Hamas rocket fire into Israel" as pretexts. The war resulted in 2,100 dead Palestinians and 72 dead Israelis by UN estimates. There were also an estimated 18,000 homes destroyed and 41,000 homes damaged, according to figures by President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. The Egyptian brokered a ceasefire, which began on 26 August.
