Talks between Israel, Hamas deadlocked: Reports

JERUSALEM

Unresolvable disagreements between the Israeli and Hamas delegations in indirect talks for a hostage swap and cease-fire in the Gaza Strip are preventing a deal from being reached, Israeli media reported Thursday.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority cited “informed sources” on the progress of the latest round of negotiations, which began in the Egyptian capital Cairo last Tuesday.

The media outlet said the Israeli delegation left Cairo on Thursday evening and returned to Israel.

It quoted unnamed informed sources as saying that there are “unsolvable disagreements” between the two parties, without revealing the nature of the disagreements.

According to the broadcasting authority, Israel’s security cabinet will meet on Thursday evening to discuss how to proceed following the departure of its delegation from Cairo.

Earlier on Thursday, Egypt's private Al-Qahera News channel quoted a high-level Egyptian source as saying that the Hamas and Israeli delegations left Cairo on Thursday without discussing a new date.

Hamas said late Monday that it had accepted a Gaza cease-fire proposal drawn up by Egypt and Qatar.

But Israel said the truce offer accepted by Hamas did not meet its key demands and decided to push ahead with an operation in Rafah in southern Israel to apply "military pressure on Hamas with the goal of making progress on freeing the hostages and the other war aims.”

Israel has killed more than 34,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 78,500 others following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year which claimed 1,200 lives.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in the enclave.

​​​​​*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala