CAIRO - Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on Sunday discussed ways to enhance joint action to confront challenges affecting regional security and peace.

During a phone conversation, they stressed the necessity of reaching an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and stopping the escalation in the West Bank to restore stability to the region, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.

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Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, is leading mediation efforts to reach a truce and a hostage-prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, with the goal of achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

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The Palestinian death toll from the nearly 11-month-long Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 40,738, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Sunday.