No Truce: Hamas Declines Israeli Offer for Gaza Ceasefire

A Hamas official said the group has rejected an Israeli proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and that negotiations are continuing Wednesday. That's after an Israeli official says the ceasefire talks hit last-minute snag, potentially holding up the deal.

Anticipation is growing as Israel and Hamas appear to be at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to pause 15 months of war. Key mediator Qatar said it would hold a news conference Wednesday, without providing details.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the war.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants stormed into southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people and abducted around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.

The Israel Hamas-war has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities there. The Health Ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, but says women and children make up more than half the fatalities.

Gaza ceasefire talks with Hamas hit a last-minute snag, holding up deal

An Israeli official says ceasefire talks with Hamas have hit a last-minute snag, holding up an emerging deal to pause the war in Gaza.

The official said that Hamas had raised objections to agreed-upon arrangements for the Philadelphi Corridor -- a strategic strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt.

“Israel strongly rejects any change to these maps,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing closed-door negotiations.

The disagreement delayed an expected announcement on a deal. It was unclear how serious the dispute was.

White House says Gaza ceasefire still has issues that needed to be ironed out, officials say

White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk had briefed Biden administration officials on the status of the negotiations early Wednesday and told them that talks were continuing but there were still issues that needed to be ironed out, according to two administration officials familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly.