A senior member of the Palestinian faction Hamas said on Saturday that Egypt continued to sponsor the resumption of indirect Gaza cease-fire talks between Palestinian factions and Israel.

"Contacts are still ongoing between our movement and Egyptian authorities," Mahmoud al-Zahar said during a meeting in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younes.

Egypt brokered a cease-fire between Palestinian factions and Israel on August 26, following a 51-day Israeli offensive on the coastal Palestinian territory.

The cease-fire made it necessary for both sides to return to the negotiating table in Cairo to discuss pending issues.

However, an October 24 attack on Egyptian troops in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula overshadowed the resumption of the negotiations, especially after Egypt said some of the perpetrators of the attack had crossed the border into the Gaza Strip, while others had received medical treatment at some of Gaza's hospitals.

Al-Zahar said his movement had proved to Egyptian authorities that this information was incorrect.

He said Hamas understood Egypt's current security conditions, describing these conditions as the "toughest."

Al-Zahar said Hamas was ready for resuming the indirect cease-fire talks with Israel, waiting for an Egyptian invitation in this regard.

Azzam al-Ahmad, who headed the Palestinian side in the indirect talks, said earlier that Egypt had deferred until mid-November the resumption of the talks against the background of the situation in the Sinai Peninsula.

Following the October 24 attack, Egyptian authorities closed down the Rafah crossing on the border between Sinai and Gaza.

Al-Zahar said his movement did not intervene in the affairs of any Arab country, adding that Hamas would not point its guns at any Arabs.

"Firing even a shot on Arab soldiers in general and Egyptian soldiers in particular isn't permissible in our thinking," al-Zahar said.

"We had nothing to do with what happened in Sinai and Egypt knows this very well," he added.

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