Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given Israeli negotiators permission to travel to Cairo to resume talks on reaching an agreement on hostages and a ceasefire with Hamas.
The negotiations are to take place either on Saturday or Sunday, according to a statement from his office, as reported by several Israeli media outlets.
The statement comes after reports in Israeli media claimed that Netanyahu had rejected calls from his security chiefs to seize the opportunity to reach an agreement, and after US President Joe Biden urged Netanyahu in a call on Thursday to stop escalating tensions in the region and immediately work towards an agreement.
Netanyahu's staff has denied reports that he refused to seek an agreement.
Instead, they claim that it is Hamas and its leader Yahya Sinwar who are preventing a ceasefire from being reached.
