(Photo: Agencies)

GAZA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior Egyptian intelligence delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip on Thursday for two-day talks with Hamas-led factions to strengthen their calm with Israel, security sources said.

The Egyptian delegation entered Gaza from the West Bank through the Israel-controlled Erez border crossing, the sources said.

The visit of the Egyptian delegation comes a day before the weekly anti-Israel protests on Friday, better known as the Great March of Return aimed to break the Israeli siege on the coastal enclave.

The Highest Commission of the Great March of Return said earlier in a statement that the peaceful protests will continue this Friday.

Last Friday, four Palestinians were killed in the weekly protests, thus triggering a new wave of military escalation between the Israeli army and Gaza militants.

A total of 27 Palestinians and four Israelis were killed during the weekend conflict before Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar intervened to broker a calm deal between the two sides.

On Wednesday, the delegations representing Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad returned to Gaza following a week-long visit to Egypt.

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas chief in Gaza, held talks with the Egyptian high-ranking security officials over the long-standing Israeli assault and siege on the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian factions want Israel to completely end all its measures, mainly the almost 12-year blockade on the Gaza Strip, and improve the difficult livelihood of the 2 million Palestinians in the enclave.