A new round of talks on renewing the Gaza ceasefire and freeing Israeli hostages ended in Cairo on Monday without progress, Palestinian and Egyptian sources told Reuters.
They added that Hamas maintained its position that any agreement must lead to an end to the war in Gaza.
Israel, which resumed its offensive on Gaza last month, breaking a truce agreed in January, says it will not end the war until Hamas is eradicated. Hamas rejects any proposal to lay down its arms.
However, despite the fundamental disagreement, sources say that a Hamas delegation led by the group's head in Gaza, Khalil Al-Haj, has shown some flexibility regarding how many hostages they could release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, if the ceasefire is extended.
An Egyptian source told Reuters that under the latest proposal to extend the ceasefire, Hamas would likely release a larger number of hostages.
Israeli Minister Zeev Elkin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, told Army Radio today that Israel is seeking the release of about 10 hostages. Hamas had previously agreed to release five hostages.
Hamas has asked for more time to respond to the latest proposal, an Egyptian source said.
"Hamas has no problem, but it wants guarantees that Israel will agree to start negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement," he added.
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