Negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Hamas and mediators ended today in Cairo without any progress, Hamas sources told Reuters. There are only a few days left until the start of Ramadan.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told Reuters that Hamas presented its proposal for a ceasefire agreement to mediators during two days of negotiations and was now awaiting a response from the Israelis, who were not present during the current round.

“Netanyahu doesn't want to reach an agreement, and now the ball is in the Americans' court to put pressure on Israel to make a deal,” he said.

Regarding Israel's previous request for a list of living hostages held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip, Naeem explained that this was impossible without a ceasefire, since "the prisoners are distributed throughout the war zone and are being held by different factions."

Egyptian security sources told the agency that they are still in contact with Israel to continue negotiations even if Israel decides not to send a delegation to the negotiations.

On the other hand, senior Egyptian sources confirmed to Al-Arabiya that discussions are ongoing and it is not true that they ended in a deadlock. The source said there were some difficulties hampering the negotiation process, but denied it had completely collapsed.

Bassem Naim also told reporters that the movement's leaders are expected to hold additional talks in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

bbabo.Net