Israel’s war on Gaza live: Israeli forces pound Rafah as truce talks stall | Israel War on Gaza News

Negotiations for a ceasefire are at a stalemate.

Hamas wants an end to the war, but Israel says it’s willing only to pause the fighting to secure the release of captives.

We had Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant visiting Gaza and suggesting that a major Rafah operation is coming. He said Israel has identified “alarming signs” that Hamas does not intend to reach an agreement and that this means Israel will start military action in Rafah and the entire Gaza Strip in the very near future.

Now, Hamas is blaming Israel for the failure to reach a deal so far.

It issued a statement saying that it was keen and determined to reach an agreement that met the “national demands” of the Palestinian people. These include an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes.

Hamas representatives left Cairo on Sunday evening for further consultations, but say they’ll be back there on Tuesday. And Al Jazeera understands that CIA Director William Burns is on his way to Doha for an emergency meeting with the Qatari prime minister to see if there’s a way to prevent the collapse of the ceasefire talks.

So there’s still a chance that there could be a deal.