Talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza are progressing in Cairo and all sides have agreed on basic points, state-affiliated Egyptian television channel Al-Qahera News said early Monday (local time), citing to a high Egyptian source.
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Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt this Sunday for new talks on a possible ceasefire in the six-month conflict, following the arrival on Saturday of the director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas and neither party to the Cairo talks has confirmed the Al-Qahera news report.
According to Al-Qahera, Hamas and Qatar delegations left Cairo and will return within two days to agree on the terms of a final deal, while Israeli and US delegations will leave within hours. He added that consultations will continue over the next 48 hours.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would not accept a ceasefire without the release of the hostages, as Hamas reiterated its demands, which include a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the return of the displaced to northern Gaza.
Netanyahu said that despite growing international pressure, Israel will not give in to the “extreme” demands of Gaza's Islamist rulers, Hamas.
Pressure against Netanyahu continues in Israel
Thousands of people demonstrated in Jerusalem on Sunday demanding the release of around 130 hostages still being held in Gaza.
Nearly six months into the war, Israel has faced protests in the country demanding a deal to release the dwindling number of hostages taken during the Hamas cross-border attack on October 7.
Western countries have expressed outrage at what they see as an unacceptably high number of Palestinian civilian deaths and a humanitarian crisis in Gaza that have resulted from Israel's campaign to destroy Hamas.
The war broke out after Hamas militants attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli counts.
More than 33,100 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli response, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
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