A Hamas official said on Monday no progress was made at a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo also attended by delegations from Israel, Qatar and the US, shortly after Egyptian sources said headway had been achieved on the agenda.
Western powers have voiced outrage over what they see as an unacceptably high Palestinian civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza arising from Israel’s military onslaught to destroy Hamas in tiny, densely populated Gaza.
Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt on Sunday after the arrival on Saturday of CIA Director William Burns, whose presence underlined rising US pressure for a deal that would free hostages held in Gaza and get aid to stricken civilians.
“There is no change in the position of the occupation and therefore, there is nothing new in the Cairo talks,” the Hamas official, who asked not to be named.
“There is no progress yet.”
Six months into its offensive against Palestinian movement Hamas that has devastated Gaza and left most of its 2.3 million people homeless and many at risk of famine, Israel also voiced cautious optimism about the latest negotiations.
In Jerusalem at the weekend, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz described the Cairo talks as the closest the sides have come to a deal since a November truce under which Hamas freed dozens of hostages.
Hamas seized 253 people during an Oct. 7, cross-border killing spree in southern Israel that ignited the war. Of those, 129 hostages remain, and negotiators have spoken of around 40 going free in the first stage of a prospective deal with Hamas.
Two Egyptian security sources and Al-Qahera News said progress had been made in the Cairo talks.
The security sources said both sides had made concessions that could help pave the way for a deal for a truce which – as proposed during previous talks – would be staggered over three stages, with the release of any remaining Israeli hostages and a long-term ceasefire addressed in the second stage.
