International meeting in Cairo forms 'joint operations room' to monitor Gaza cease-fire: Egyptian media

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) - An international meeting in Cairo agreed Friday to form a "joint operations room" to monitor the ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip set to take effect Sunday.

State-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel quoted an unidentified Egyptian source, who said the meeting, attended by representatives from Egypt, Qatar, the US and Israel, was to discuss mechanisms for implementing the deal and that it "ended on a positive note."

The source confirmed that "a joint operations room" was established to follow mechanisms for implementing the deal.

The news outlet added that the room would include representatives from the four countries in addition to Palestine.

It, however, did not provide details on the meeting and its outcomes.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the Security Cabinet approved a prisoner swap and ceasefire agreement.

Qatar announced the three-phase agreement on Wednesday to end more than 15 months of Israeli attacks on Gaza, which have killed nearly 47,000 victims and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar