No peace for Gaza as ceasefire talks fail in Cairo over Philadelphi corridor

Israeli and Hamas delegations failed to reach an agreement in the Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo on Sunday (Aug 25). Neither party was willing to agree to several compromises presented by mediators, sources told Reuters.

However, a senior US official described the talks as "constructive" and said they were conducted in a spirit on all sides to reach "a final and implementable agreement."

"The process will continue over the coming days through working groups to further address remaining issues and details," said the anonymous official to Reuters.

The meeting in Cairo was the culmination of months of talks after the Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, on Israel and Israel'smilitary campaign since then.

One of the key points of contention in the ongoing talks, mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, includes an Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5-km-long stretch of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

Mediators put forward several alternatives to the presence of Israeli forces on the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor which cuts across the middle of the Gaza Strip. Still, none were accepted by the parties.

Israel also took issue with releasing several Palestinian detainees and demanded that they exit Gaza if released, the sources added.

Teams from Israel, the United States and Egypt have been cooperating to narrow gaps, with Qatar and Egypt walking Hamas through the proposal on Saturday. On Sunday, Israel joined the talks and brought up their issues with the current proposal.

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Hamas said Israel had backtracked on a commitment to withdraw troops from the Philadelphi corridor and had added new conditions, including evaluations of displaced Palestinians as they return to the more heavily populated north when the ceasefire begins.

"We will not accept discussions about retractions from what we agreed to on July 2 or new conditions," Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al-Aqsa TV on Sunday.

(With inputs from agencies)