Israel gives document to mediators specifying its objections to Hamas hostage deal terms; Cairo talks over

Before leaving the indirect hostage-truce talks in Cairo earlier today, Israel’s negotiators put in writing their specific objections to the document issued by Hamas on Monday night that purportedly accepted a ceasefire. The Israeli document has been conveyed to the mediators, Israeli sources say.

Hamas representatives have also now left Cairo, Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News reports.

Israel’s Channel 12 says that CIA director Bill Burns has also departed the area and headed back to the US.

According to an Egyptian source quoted by Al-Qahera, efforts by Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators “are ongoing to bring the two sides’ points of view closer.”

However, Channel 12 reports that the current round of efforts, at least, is over. It says that in their talks with Burns yesterday, Israeli leaders criticized the CIA chief for continuing the Cairo contacts in the wake of what they have called Hamas’s unacceptable terms, saying his presence risked creating the incorrect impression that the Hamas document could serve as a basis for progress.