Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Egypt's intelligence chief and sent Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi to Cairo on Sunday, amid efforts to build on a ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas a week ago that ended the worst violence in years. 

Egypt sponsored an Israel-Hamas truce implemented on May 21 after 11 days of fighting between the two sides, which left at least 248 Palestinians and 12 Israelis dead.

"We will discuss establishing a permanent ceasefire with #Hamas, a mechanism for providing humanitarian aid & the reconstruction of #Gaza with a pivotal role played by the intl. community," said Ashkenazi on social media, adding that his Cairo trip is "the first formal visit of an Israeli FM in 13 years".

Meanwhile, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported that the Egyptian delegation will discuss ways to reach a comprehensive truce in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The delegation will also discuss reconstruction of Gaza, for which Egypt has allocated $500 million, MENA said.

Senior Egyptian security officials confirmed to AFP on Sunday that Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh would also be in Cairo for discussions but would not provide further details.

On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Cairo, where the Egyptian president stressed the need for "direct negotiations" between Israelis and Palestinians to end their decades-long conflict.

Egypt, which supports the creation of an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution, has had a U.S.-sponsored peace treaty with Israel since 1979.