Qatar’s emir visits Egypt for talks on ending Gaza violence

CAIRO (Reuters) -The leaders of Qatar and Egypt, both hoping to mediate a de-escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, the provision of humanitarian aid and the release of Israeli hostages, met in Cairo on Friday. The meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will cover ways to calm the situation in Gaza and provide humanitarian relief for the enclave's 2.3 million besieged residents, a statement from Sisi's office said. The Qatari emir's visit comes a day after Qatar's prime minister met the chiefs of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israeli spy agency Mossad in Doha to discuss the parameters of a deal for a hostage release and a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas.