Hamas says it rejects new Israeli conditions in Gaza ceasefire talks

Hamas said on Sunday that it rejects new Israeli conditions put forward in Gaza ceasefire talks, casting further doubt on the chances of a breakthrough in the latest U.S.-backed effort to end the 10-month-old war.

Months of on-off talks have failed to produce an agreement to end Israel's devastating war on Gaza or free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas.

Key sticking points in ongoing talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar include an Israeli presence in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5 km-long (nine-mile) stretch of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

Hamas said Israel has backtracked on a commitment to withdraw troops from the Corridor and put forward other new conditions, including the screening of displaced Palestinians as they return to the enclave's 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 the group's Al-Aqsa TV on Sunday.

Additionally, two Egyptian security sources said talks over a possible Gaza deal ended without agreement in Cairo, with neither Hamas nor Israel agreeing to several comprises presented by mediators.

.In July, Hamas accepted a U.S. proposal to begin talks on releasing Israeli hostages, including soldiers and men, 16 days after the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the Gaza war, a senior Hamas source has told Reuters.

Hamdan also said Hamas has handed to mediators its response to the latest proposal, saying U.S. talk of an imminent deal is false.

A Hamas delegation left Cairo on Sunday after holding talks with mediators, senior official Izzat El-Reshiq said, adding that the group had reiterated its demand that any agreement must stipulate a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. 

(Reuters)