The meeting in Cairo aimed to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but it ended on Sunday without concrete progress due to the inflexible positions of both sides after seven months of war. A senior Hamas official told AFP that the delegation of the Islamist group left for Qatar after disagreements intensified over the terms of an agreement, which included a truce and the release of hostages. However, a group will return to the Egyptian capital on Tuesday to conclude the indirect negotiations with Israel, as reported by the Egyptian media Al Qahera News, citing a well-informed source.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that accepting Hamas’ demands to end the war in Gaza would be a terrible defeat for the State of Israel and equivalent to capitulation. In response, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh accused Netanyahu of sabotaging the efforts of mediators to obtain a truce in the devastated Palestinian territory. The war broke out on October 7 after a raid by Islamist commandos in southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, and the kidnapping of around 250 according to Israeli data.
The Israeli authorities estimate that 128 people remain captive in Gaza, with 35 having died so far following an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners in November. The offensive launched by Israel in response to the attack has resulted in 34,683 deaths in Gaza, mostly civilians according to Ministry of Health data. The Israeli leader announced that he closed down Qatari news network Al Jazeera’s coverage of
