Gaza ceasefire talks ends without breakthrough

The latest round of indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have ended without a breakthrough, a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told the BBC. According to the official, the session lasted for nearly three and a half hours and took place in two separate buildings in Doha. Messages and clarifications were exchanged between the two sides through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, but no progress was achieved. The official added that talks are expected to resume on Monday, as mediators plan to hold separate meetings with each delegation in an effort to overcome the obstacles and narrow the gaps between the two sides. According to Reuters news agency who spoke with two Palestinian officials, the Israeli delegation was not “sufficiently authorised” to reach an agreement with Hamas because it had “no real powers”. The latest round of indirect negotiations come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Washington to meet Donald Trump. Netanyahu said he thinks his meeting with the US president on Monday should help progress efforts to reach a deal for the release of more hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza. He said he had given his negotiators clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire agreement under conditions Israel has accepted. Hamas has said it has responded to the latest ceasefire proposal in a positive spirit, but it seems clear there are still gaps between the two sides that need to be bridged if any deal is to be agreed. For now, Hamas still seems to be holding out for essentially the same conditions it has previously insisted on – including a guarantee of an end to all hostilities at the end of any truce and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. Netanyahu’s government has rejected this before. The Israeli position may also not have shifted to any major degree. As he was leaving Israel for the US, Netanyahu said he was still committed to what he described as three missions: “The release and return of all the hostages, the living and the fallen; the destruction of Hamas’s capabilities – to kick it out of there, and to ensure that Gaza will no longer constitute a threat to Israel.