By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
GAZA/JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Worthy News) – Hamas said late Sunday that it rejects new Israeli conditions put forward in Gaza ceasefire-hostage talks, raising concerns there won’t be a breakthrough in efforts to end the 10-month-old war as fears mount of a broader armed conflict in the region.
Months of on-off talks have failed to produce an agreement or free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas in the group’s October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Sources said that a Hamas delegation left Cairo on Sunday after meeting with mediators and receiving an update on the latest round of negotiations.
The talks reportedly ended without an agreement, with neither Hamas nor Israel agreeing to compromises proposed by mediators
Hamas said late Sunday that it rejects new Israeli conditions put forward in Gaza ceasefire-hostage talks, raising concerns there will be no breakthrough in efforts to end the 10-month-old war as fears mount of a broader armed conflict in the region.
Months of on-off talks have failed to produce an agreement or free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas in the group’s October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Key sticking points in ongoing talks mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar include an Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5 kilometers-long (nine-mile) stretch of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, according to Israeli sources.
BLAMING ISRAEL
Hamas said Israel walked away on a commitment to withdraw troops from the Corridor and instead put forward other new conditions, such as screening displaced Palestinians as they return to Gaza’s more heavily populated north when the ceasefire begins.
The lack of progress came as a setback for the loved ones of hostages still held by Hamas since its attack on Israel.
Some 109 hostages remain in Gaza, and at least 34 are dead, according to Israeli military sources.
U.S. officials estimate about half of the remaining hostages are dead.
Many hostage relatives and their supporters believe that time is running out to get back those who remain alive in tough circumstances.
They believed the cease-fire talks in Cairo might have been the last chance to see the remaining hostages back alive.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time in nine months, citing signs of a cooling labor market and persistent uncertainty in the U.S. economy.
Several nations have threatened to boycott the world’s largest televised song competition if Israel participates.
Suspected Islamist gunmen on motorbikes have killed at least 22 people in Niger, including about 15 at a baptism ceremony and seven more nearby, officials and witnesses said. In neighboring Nigeria, a Christian farmer in the Abuja area separately told Worthy News he miraculously escaped armed men raiding his land.
At least nine people have died in Pakistan’s Punjab province when a rescue boat capsized during flood relief efforts, authorities confirmed over the weekend amid massive death and destruction that also impacted the Islamic nation’s tiny Christian minority.
The U.S. Department of State on Wednesday announced the designation of four Iran-backed militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), escalating pressure on Tehran and its network of proxies across the Middle East.
Israel on Wednesday announced that its long-awaited laser air defense system, known as the “Iron Beam,” is now fully operational following a series of advanced tests. The Defense Ministry and developer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said the first batteries will be delivered to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) by the end of the year, marking a historic first for military technology worldwide.
Iran erupted in protests overnight as thousands took to the streets to mark the third anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, the young Kurdish woman killed in custody by the regime’s morality police after refusing to wear a hijab.