Egyptian leader urges 'permanent calm' between Israel, Hamas as Gaza aid conference opens

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, before a working breakfast during the Gaza Donor Conference. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool) (The Associated Press)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives at Cairo International Airport Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, to attend a reconstruction conference for Gaza. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool) (The Associated Press)

U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton, right, look out from the dais, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, during the Gaza Donor Conference. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool) (The Associated Press)

An international donors' conference to help Gaza rebuild after the devastating, 50-day Israel-Hamas war this summer has opened in Cairo with participants expected to pledge hundreds of millions of dollars.

Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi kicked off the one-day gathering Sunday involving envoys such as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Egypt's government negotiated a cease-fire that ended the fighting on Aug. 27.

In his address, Sissi said the reconstruction of Gaza hinged on a "permanent calm" between Hamas and Israel. He said it also required the exercise of "full authority" by the Palestinian Authority, led by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas.

The latest Hamas-Israel was the most ruinous of three wars between Hamas and Israel since 2008, leaving more than 2,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians killed. Another 10,000 were wounded, and some 100,000 people remain homeless.