Hamas 'ready to reconcile with Fatah with no pre-conditions'

Hamas says it is ready to talk reconciliation with the rival government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose presidency expired in 2009 without preconditions.

Hamas had previously demanded that Abbas halt a series of measures taken against Gaza before sitting down to discuss a reconciliation deal.

However, in a statement made on Monday following a meeting with Egyptian officials in Cairo, the group said it was prepared to start talks with Fatah.

This comes after Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh landed in Cairo on Saturday for talks with Egyptian officials to end a siege on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Haniyeh said the purpose of the talks was to try to convince Egypt to end its crippling blockade on Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Egypt joined Israel in its siege on Gaza in 2013, following the overthrow of President Mohamad Morsi from the Muslim Brotherhood.

It was initially expected that Haniyeh's visit to Egypt could have been a way of bypassing Ramallah's own blockade on Gaza.

Gaza has effectively been under siege by Israel since Hamas came to power in 2007, but has received most of its electricity and fuel from Israel ever since, subsidised by the PA.

A similar blockade from the Egyptian side of the border has exasperated the problems for Gazans, with energy, food, fuel, medical supplies and building materials in short supply.

In April, the PA began to end energy payments, causing frequent power cuts in Gaza and severe pressure on regional hospitals.

The World Health Organisation warned in June that the blackouts threatened Gaza's health service provision and placed people's lives at real risk.