Hamas rejected the latest Israeli proposal, a senior official in the terror group, Ali Baraka, who is based in Lebanon, told Reuters, though another Hamas official told the AFP news agency that Hamas was still studying the potential deal.

“There is no change in the position of the occupation (Israel) and therefore, there is nothing new in the Cairo talks,” a third Hamas official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters earlier. “There is no progress yet.”

This official said the deadlock continued over Israel’s refusal to end the war, withdraw forces from Gaza, allow all civilians to return to their homes, and lift a 17-year-old blockade to allow speedy reconstruction of the coastal enclave.