Palestinian President Abbas expects truce within days

Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expects Israel and Hamas to reach a truce in and around the Gaza Strip within days, his spokesman said on Monday.

"President Abbas on [Monday] and [Sunday] had a series of telephone conversations with the Egyptian leadership to support Egypt's efforts for a truce," spokesman Nabeel Abu Rudeina said.

"During the talks, he expressed hope a truce agreement would be reached in the next days," he added.

Abbas asked Israel to reopen border crossings with the impoverished territory as part of a truce agreement, the spokesman said.

A delegation from Hamas was to give its final response to a ceasefire proposal to Egyptian mediators.