CAIRO: A senior official of the Palestinian group Hamas, Osama Hamdan, said there has been no progress in ceasefire talks with Israel over the Gaza war.
The group is still ready to "deal positively" with any ceasefire proposal that ends the war, Hamdan told a news conference in Beirut.
Mediators' efforts, backed by the United States, have so far failed to conclude a ceasefire, with both sides blaming each other for the impasse. Hamas says any deal must end the war and bring full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel says it will accept only temporary pauses in fighting until Hamas is eradicated.
Hamdan also blamed the United States for applying pressure on Hamas to accept Israel's conditions.
"Once again, Hamas is ready to deal positively with any proposal that secures a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from Gaza Strip and a serious swap deal," said Hamdan, referring to a potential swap of captives held in Gaza for Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
When Palestinian groups stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7 they killed around 1,200 people and seized more than 250 captives, according to Israeli tallies.
The Israeli offensive in retaliation has so far killed nearly 38,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, and has left the heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins. Israel has lost more than 300 soldiers in Gaza and says at least a third of the Palestinian dead are fighters.
Residents said tanks advanced deeper into several districts including the area around the local market and there was heavy fire from the air and the ground.
The armed wing of Palestinian groups reported fierce fighting, saying fighters fired anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs against the forces operating there.
The Israeli military said dozens of Palestinian gunmen were killed over the past two days in close quarters combat and airstrikes in Shejaia.
"In the area, the troops located observation posts, weapons, enemy drones and a long-range rocket launcher near the schools," the military said in a statement.
Hamas has denied assertions that it operates in civilian areas such as schools and hospitals.
Meanwhile Israeli forces operating in several districts in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, killed several Palestinians and forced families living in the far western edge of the city along the coastal areas to head northwards, according to Palestinian medical officials and residents. — Reuters
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