Gaza truce talks continue in Cairo as Israel bombards enclave / Main Hamas demand

Hamas leaders are taking part in a second day of negotiations with Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Sunday for a truce in the Gaza Strip, with no apparent progress, as the Islamist group maintained its demand that any deal end the war in the enclave. Palestinian officials told Reuters.

A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said the Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo determined to reach a deal “but not at any cost.”

“A deal must end the war and pull Israeli forces out of Gaza, and Israel has not yet said it is willing to do that,” the official told Reuters, asking not to be named.

Hamas’s main demand: A complete end to the war

Israel wants a deal to release at least some of the roughly 130 hostages held by Hamas, but an Israeli official signaled Saturday that the main position remained unchanged.

He said Israel would “under no circumstances” accept a deal to end the war aimed at disarming and permanently destroying Hamas.

Another Palestinian official told Reuters that the negotiations “are facing difficulties because the occupation (Israel) refuses to commit to a complete cessation of fighting”, but added that the Hamas delegation was still in Cairo in the hope that mediators could pressure on Israel to change its position.

Israel continues to bomb the enclave

While the latest talks were underway, residents and health officials said Israeli planes and tanks continued to shell areas of the Palestinian enclave overnight, killing and injuring several people.

More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 77,000 injured in the Israeli assault, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The bombing devastated much of the coastal enclave and caused a humanitarian crisis.

Qatar, where Hamas has a political office, as well as Egypt, are trying to broker a ceasefire like the one in November, amid international dismay over the mounting death toll in Gaza and the plight of the 2.3 million residents.

Egyptian sources said CIA Director William Burns, who was also involved in earlier truce talks, arrived in Cairo on Friday.

Washington – which, like other Western powers and Israel, lists Hamas as a terrorist group – has urged the Islamist group to strike a deal.

Israel would have agreed to the release of only a few dozen hostages

Israel has given a preliminary nod to terms that one source said include the release of 20 to 33 hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a several-week truce.

Thus, approximately 100 hostages would remain in Gaza, some of whom, according to Israel, died in captivity.

The source, who asked not to be identified by name or nationality, told Reuters that their release could require further approval.

Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire deal to bring the remaining hostages home.