Warring Israel, Hamas Set To Depart Cairo After Initial Round Of Talks, See No Sign Of Truce In Gaza

Israeli and Palestinian Hamas officials have downplayed reports of progress in ceasefire talks after an Egyptian news outlet reported early on Monday that all parties have agreed on basic points. Israeli officials speaking to news outlets Channel 12 and Ynet said that they do not see the possibility of a deal being reached.

Gazan officials also expressed similar feelings about the ceasefire agreement talks being held in Cairo. “So far there is no progress,” a Gazan official said while speaking to Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen.

The official accused Israeli authorities of being “obstinate”.

The Israeli officials said there is “great distance” between the parties. “We still don’t see a deal on the horizon. The distance between the sides is still great and there has been nothing dramatic so far,” the officials told Israeli news outlets Channel 12 and Ynet.

Earlier, Egypt’s Al-Qahera News, the state-affiliated broadcaster, said talks on a truce in the Gaza conflict are making progress in Cairo.

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz earlier said that the recent discussions in Cairo are the closest the sides have come to a deal since a November truce. Hamas freed dozens of hostages during the November truce.

“We have reached a critical point in the negotiations. If it works out, then a large number of hostages will come home,” he told Israel’s Army Radio.

Hamas abducted 253 people during an October 7 killing spree that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel that triggered the war. Of those, 129 hostages remain, and negotiators had spoken of around 40 going free in the first stage of a prospective deal with Hamas.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,175 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

But, if recent reports are to be believed, both sides are yet to reach an agreement despite conditions of Palestinians living in Gaza deteriorating rapidly.

However, there is hope that the parties will reach an agreement in two days as all parties will return to Cairo to seek agreement of final terms, the Egyptian state-run broadcaster said. The consultations will continue in the next 48 hours. The Hamas and Qatar delegations have already left Cairo and the Israel and US delegations will leave within a few hours, the broadcaster further added.

Vast areas of Gaza have been turned into a rubble-strewn wasteland, with damage to infrastructure, mostly housing, estimated at $18.5 billion, a World Bank report said.

Charities have accused Israel of blocking aid, but Israel has defended its efforts and blamed shortages on aid organisations’ inability to distribute assistance once it gets in.

Israel on Sunday pulled its forces out of the southern Gaza Strip and the main city there, Khan Yunis, allowing large numbers of displaced Palestinians to return to the devastated urban area.