CAIRO: Israel has boycotted Gaza truce talks in Cairo after Hamas refused to hand over a complete list of captives that are still alive, Western media reported on Sunday.
A Hamas delegation reached Cairo for the talks, a possible final hurdle before an agreement that would pause the six weeks fighting. However, Israelis did not show by the evening.
Reports quoted unidentified Israeli officials as saying that there is no Israeli delegation in Cairo as Hamas refuses to give answers to Israeli questions.
Washington has stated the ceasefire deal is near and should be in place in time to pause fighting by the start of the holy month of Ramadan. But the warring parties have given little signal in public of withdrawing from previous demands.
After the Hamas delegation arrived, a Palestinian official told western media the agreement was not yet there. There was no comment officially from the Israeli side.
One source on Saturday said that Israel could stay away from Cairo talks unless Hamas first presented its full list of captives who are still alive. A Palestinian source said Hamas had dismissed that demand so far.
Peace deal is on the table
A U.S. official told reporters that the path to a ceasefire right now is straightforward and the deal is literally on the table.
He said that Israel had agreed to the framework and it was now up to Hamas to reply.
A peace agreement would bring the first extended pause in the war. Under the deal dozens of captives would be released in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
The deal would help to enhance humanitarian assistance for Gazans who are on the verge of famine. The fighting would be halted after the agreement just before a massive Israeli offensive on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are taking refuge.
Under the agreement Israeli forces would pull back from some areas and let Gazans return to abandoned homes.
But the proposed deal appears to stop short of fulfilling the main Hamas demand for a permanent end of war.
Egyptian mediators have asked that such issue could be set aside for now, with assurances to resolve it in later stages.
