Hamas official says key sticking points are troop withdrawal, size of buffer zone

A Hamas official tells CNN that the terror group “is very close” to an agreement with Israel over a ceasefire-hostage deal, but that several key sticking points remain.

The official tells the news channel that disagreements remain over Hamas’s demand that Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and commit to a permanent ceasefire.

The unnamed official also says that there is a disagreement over the size of a buffer zone that will run along Gaza’s border with Israel.

He says that Hamas is demanding that it return to the approximately 300-500 meter strip that existed before the October 7 assault, while Israel wants it to be 2 kilometers deep.

“We believe this means that 60 [square] kilometers (37 miles) of the Gaza Strip will remain under their control, and displaced people will not return to their homes,” the official tells CNN.