Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Friday that Egypt is hopeful that talks initiated by Qatar can agree a cessation of hostilities in Gaza before the start of the upcoming fasting month of Ramadan.

"We are hopeful that we can reach a cessation of hostilities and exchange of hostages. Everyone recognizes that we have a time limit to be successful before the start of Ramadan," Shoukry said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)