Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general, is in Cairo to talk about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
It is the latest in regional and global diplomatic efforts to broker a truce, and end the war in Gaza that has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians.
Inside Story presenter Maryam Nemazee is joined by Hassan Issa, a former Egyptian ambassador to Israel; Alastair Crooke, a former European Union mediator in the Middle East and also by Jawad Al Hamad, director of the Middle East studies centre in Amman.
