Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi has held talks with the head of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, Ismail Haniya.

They discussed “solutions” relating to the blockade on the coastal territory and “alleviating the suffering” of its residents, Egyptian officials said. Mr Mursi’s predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, complied with Israel’s request to impose restrictions on Gaza after Hamas ousted the rival Fatah faction in 2007. Hamas leaders hope Mr Mursi, who is a fellow Islamist, will end the blockade.

The Palestinian group was originally founded in the 1980s as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Egypt’s president belongs.