Still work to be done on ceasefire deal, France's foreign minister says

France's foreign minister said on Wednesday that there was still work to be done to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian groups after he was updated by Egyptian officials in Cairo on the status of negotiations.

"We came to coordinate our efforts for a truce. The messages given by France and its Arab partners in the region is that Israel pulls back on this offensive in Rafah," Stephane Sejourne said after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry

He declined to say how optimistic he was of a deal being concluded, but added that if there were a truce he hoped that three French-Israeli dual nationals being held by Hamas would be on the list for release.

Reporting by Reuters