‘Significant progress’ towards Gaza truce, hostage deal in Cairo talks: Report

As the talks in Cairo entered second day, mediators and Hamas envoys have made “significant progress” towards a truce in Gaza, AFP cited an Egyptian state-linked TV as reporting on Monday .

“Egypt continues its intense efforts to reach a truce before Ramadan,” AFP quoted Al-Qahera News as saying.

The Muslim fasting month begins on March 10 or 11.

“There has been significant progress in the negotiations,” the report added after the latest talks began Sunday in Cairo, without Israeli representation.

Israel did not send a negotiating team to Cairo after receiving an unsatisfactory response from Hamas on the latest framework, hammered out in Paris last weekend.

The Gaza-based terror organisation refused to address Jerusalem’s demand to provide a list of living hostages and to lock down how many Palestinian prisoners Israel must release for every hostage freed, Times of Israel quoted an Israeli official as saying.

According to a senior US official, Israel has broadly accepted terms of the proposed six-week truce, which would also see stepped-up aid deliveries into Gaza.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been pushing for a ceasefire in the almost five-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, with the latest proposal calling for a six-week halt to fighting and hostage release.