Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan did not participate in the Beijing leg of the tour and will also miss the trip of a group of Muslim countries to Moscow today as President Tayyip Erdogan is on a visit to Algeria, Reuters quoted a Turkish source as saying.

Fidan said on Monday he would join the next legs of the tour. He told Al Jazeera at the weekend that Muslim countries had, for now, decided to use “all diplomatic and humanitarian means” available to end the fighting in Gaza, adding Israeli attacks on the enclave must be stopped at the UN and other platforms with the efforts of like-minded countries.

The group will meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron during visits to Britain and France on Wednesday, the source said. Turkish media reported the group would visit France and Britain on Wednesday.

Separately, a group of 87 Turks, Turkish Cypriots, and their relatives arrived in Egypt from Gaza on Monday, and are expected to fly to Istanbul late on Tuesday, the source said.

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Tuesday his movement was nearing a truce agreement with Israel, according to a statement posted on Telegram, AFP reported. “We are close to reaching a deal on a truce,” Haniyeh said, according to the post.

Negotiators have been working to seal a deal to allow the release of around 240 mostly Israeli hostages seized on Oct 7, during the deadliest assault on Israel in its history.

Intense negotiations mediated by Qatar, where Hamas has a political office and where Haniyeh is based, have been underway. Qatar’s prime minister said Sunday that a deal to free some of the hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire hinged on “minor” practical issues.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden said he believed a deal to free the hostages was close. Biden then crossed his fingers to signal he hoped for good luck.

Two sources familiar with the talks told AFP a tentative deal includes a five-day truce, comprised of a ceasefire on the ground and limits to Israeli air operations over southern Gaza.

In return, between 50 and 100 prisoners held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad would be released including Israeli civilians and captives of other nationalities, but no military personnel.

Under the proposed deal, some 300 Palestinians would be released from Israeli jails, among them women and children.