DOHA, Oct 9 — Hamas said today it had begun meetings with rival Palestinian faction Fatah in Cairo to discuss the year-long war in the Gaza Strip and efforts towards national unity.

"A meeting has just commenced in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, between the delegations of the Hamas movement... and the Fatah movement,” a Hamas statement read.

It added that they were discussing "aggression on the Gaza Strip, the political and field developments, and to unify national efforts and ranks”.

Two Fatah sources confirmed the meeting to AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.

Hamas and Fatah are long-term rivals that fought a brief but bloody war in 2007 in which the former seized control of Gaza.

Fatah continues to dominate the Palestinian Authority, which has limited administrative control over urban areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In July Hamas announced it had signed an agreement in Beijing with other Palestinian organisations, including rivals Fatah, to work together for "national unity”. — AFP