Egypt sends delegation to Israel, its latest effort to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio [Video]

CAIRO — (AP) — Egypt sent a high-level delegation to Israel for talks Friday seeking to push through a cease-fire agreement with Hamas and avert an Israeli offensive on Gaza’s town of Rafah — on the border with Egypt — which it warned could ruin regional stability, officials said.

Egypt’s top intelligence official, Abbas Kamel, led the delegation and planned to discuss with Israel a “new vision” for a prolonged cease-fire in Gaza, an Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the mission freely.

As the war drags on and casualties mount, there has been growing international pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach an agreement on a cease fire.

Friday’s talks focused at first on a limited exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners, and the return of a significant number of displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza “with minimum restrictions,” the Egyptian official said.

The official said mediators are working on a …