CAIRO, February 10. /TASS/. The talks on a ceasefire between the parties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip are hard, as each participant is trying to get maximum benefit for own sake, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said.

"The dialogue [on resolving the Gaza crisis] is tough, as each side is trying to achieve the maximum possible benefit," said the Egyptian foreign minister, as quoted by the Al-Qahera Al-Ekhbariya television channel.

Shoukry pointed out that Egypt "maintains intensive contact to work out a formula for a ceasefire in the Strip." Speaking at a joint press conference in Cairo with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel, Shoukry emphasized that his country "spares no effort to deliver as much humanitarian aid as possible to the people of Gaza."

Negotiations are currently under way in the Egyptian capital in order to implement the international peace initiative for Gaza, which was outlined by mediators at the Paris talks. On February 8, a delegation of the Palestinian Hamas movement, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ deputy head in the Gaza Strip, arrived in Cairo. The movement’s statement said that the Hamas delegation traveled to Cairo to "finalize negotiations on a ceasefire [in Gaza]." Later, an Israeli delegation, including the country's security officials, arrived in the Egyptian capital "to discuss a deal to exchange" hostages for Palestinian prisoners.