Israel is stepping up assassinations of Hamas and Islamic Jihad members even as attention turns to Cairo on Saturday for the first meetings on proposals aimed at breaking the deadlock over the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. Asharq Al-Awsat learned from two Hamas sources and a third source from a Palestinian faction that the groups will meet among themselves on Saturday, before the Hamas delegation meets the mediators, to discuss the demands they see as essential to any progress in the talks.