People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the
southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Feb. 22, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
The talks held with the Israeli negotiators in Egypt on Tuesday for a truce with Hamas were "positive" and could lead to an imminent end of the current Israeli military operation in the southernmost Gazan city of Rafah, Egyptian sources said on condition of anonymity.
"Today's meeting with the Israeli delegation addressed some of the six points of disagreement between Israel and Hamas and made progress in the discussions," the sources added.
Among the points of disagreement between Israel and Gaza-ruling Hamas is that Israel seeks the release of three Israeli hostages every three days, while Hamas agrees to release three every week.
The two sides also failed to reach a consensus on Hamas's request to release a list of Palestinians, the sources said.
Israel doesn't want Hamas to control the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing and the negotiating sides are discussing a different Palestinian body, according to the sources.
Earlier on Tuesday, Egypt hosted delegations from Hamas, Israel, Qatar, and the United States to reach a comprehensive truce in Gaza.
In a video statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the delegation to "continue to stand firm on the conditions necessary for the release of our hostages, continue to stand firm on the essential requirements to ensure Israel's security."
He noted that the ceasefire proposal, brokered by Egyptian and Qatari mediators and approved by Hamas on Monday, fell short of Israel's essential requirements.
The Israeli army on Tuesday launched a military operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million internally displaced Palestinians have sought refuge since Israel's offensive began on Oct. 7 last year.
