International efforts to secure an end to the hostilities in Gaza appeared stalled on Tuesday after John Kerry, the US secretary of state, endorsed as the “framework” for a ceasefire an Egyptian proposal rejected last week by Hamas, the Islamist movement in control of the territory.
Mr Kerry, who spoke in Cairo after talks with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian president, said Hamas had “a fundamental choice to make” that would have a profound effect on the lives of people in Gaza.
He said Egypt had provided “a framework and a forum” for the Islamists and other Palestinian factions to have “serious discussions” and voiced his country’s support for Israel’s “right to self defence” against missiles fired from Gaza.