Ceasefire talks at dead end, says Palestinian official

A senior Palestinian official tells The Times of Israel that the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas are at a dead end.

According to the official, there have been a series of efforts and consultations since yesterday aimed at finding agreement to a 72-hour truce. Israel insists that IDF forces continue to operate against tunnels that cross into Israel during this truce period, while Hamas insists that this activity stop, though Hamas reportedly agreed that IDF troops could remain in Gaza for the duration of the truce.

The Israeli government’s announcement today that the IDF’s anti-tunnel activities would continue with a ceasefire or without was undermining the ceasefire efforts, the official said.

He added that Palestinian delegations could only go to Cairo for talks after a ceasefire was already in place – apparently an Egyptian demand. On that, too, there is no agreement.

The official added that an Israeli unilateral withdrawal from Gaza would place Hamas in a difficult dilemma – since it would not have achieved any of its demands for stopping the fighting from its side.

— Avi Issacharoff