There was progress over the weekend in talks on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, according to a senior US official familiar with the Cairo negotiations.

USA: The White House said Monday that negotiators are continuing to work on an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, CNN reported. Talks progressed over the weekend, according to a senior US official familiar with the talks in Cairo, where negotiators discussed “final details” of a potential deal, including the names of prisoners to be swapped as part of the deal.

Such progress does not guarantee a final deal anytime soon, but negotiators in the Egyptian capital are now discussing the “nuts and bolts” of the deal, the official said.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday that all sides, including Hamas, are represented in the talks and that the talks are able to move forward with more specificity as they work to hammer out a deal. However, Hamas Political Bureau member Bassem Naim said that Hamas was not participating in the negotiations on Monday.

Speaking to Al Arabi TV, he reiterated Hamas' position that it was “ready to negotiate on what was agreed” in the July 2 resolution but “will not accept those terms. [Israel Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu added. “

Hamas launched a major terror attack on Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, more than 100 of whom are still being held captive.

In response, Israel launched a heavy counterattack targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel's actions, however, are being criticized for the loss of civilian lives. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli operations, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Netanyahu has insisted that the war in Gaza will continue until there is a “total victory” against Hamas, even if a deal is reached. That goal has been questioned by many Israeli officials, including their own defense minister and the families of detainees held by Hamas.

Negotiators have worked for months to meet the demands of Netanyahu and Hamas. The remaining sticking points, though important, are seen as potentially escalating, CNN reported, citing the official.

One issue is the Israeli military presence on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphia Corridor. Hamas opposes Israel's desire to keep troops stationed there during the initial stages of the ceasefire agreement.

The US official said the current proposal calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from “densely populated areas” in Gaza, and the current discussion centers on which parts of the Philadelphia Corridor qualify as densely populated versus unpopulated, where the IDF would maintain a presence. In the first phase of the contract.

However, Hamas' negotiating delegation left Cairo on Sunday and publicly reiterated the group's demand that any deal “must include a permanent ceasefire, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, freedom for residents to return to their territories, aid and reconstruction, and a serious Exchange Deal.”

Despite Hamas's public comments, the US official said, “negotiators believe that Hamas may be more flexible about the Israeli presence in the first phase of the agreement.”

(with ANI input)