Hamas Joins Cairo Truce Talks As Israel, Lebanon Trade Strikes

Negotiations to pause the Israel-Hamas war headed into a second day in Cairo on Wednesday, as Israel launched a series of deadly strikes on Lebanon, stoking fears of a wider conflict.

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Mediators in Egypt were hoping to secure a ceasefire that would see more hostages released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, as Israel prepares for a fullscale ground incursion into the Gaza Strip's crowded far-southern city of Rafah.

A Hamas source told AFP that a delegation was headed to Cairo to meet Egyptian and Qatari mediators, after Israeli negotiators held talks with the mediators on Tuesday.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas urged Hamas to "quickly complete a prisoner deal, to spare our Palestinian people from the calamity of another catastrophic event".

CIA director William Burns had joined Tuesday's talks with David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, which Egyptian media said had been mostly "positive".