INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
(Reuters) - A Hamas official said on Monday no progress had been made at a new round of talks in Cairo on a ceasefire in the Gaza war after
the Egyptian hosts said headway had been achieved on the agenda.Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt on Sunday after the arrival on Saturday
of CIA Director William Burns, whose presence underlined rising U.S
pressure for a deal that would free Israeli hostages held in Gaza and get aid to Palestinian civilians
cross-border attack on Oct
7 that triggered the conflict, according to Israeli tallies
The Israeli army says over 600 of its soldiers have been killed in combat since.On Monday, a day after Israeli forces pulled back from some
areas in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said their teams had recovered more than 60 bodies from areas where the
soldiers operated in the past months.Hundreds of residents who had fled and been living in tents in the city of Rafah - where more than one
million people were sheltering - returned to their devastated home areas.Some rode on donkey carts, rickshaws and open-deck vehicles while
secure a hostage release deal as soon as possible since it would also lead to a ceasefire of around six weeks
Hamas is reviewing a new proposal now, John Kirby said.SOME PROGRESS?In Jerusalem at the weekend, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz
described the Cairo talks as the closest the sides have come to a deal since a short-lived November truce under which Hamas freed nearly
half of its hostages.Hamas seized 253 people during the Oct
Of those, 133 hostages remain captive and negotiators have spoken of around 40 going free in the first stage of a prospective deal with
Hamas.Two Egyptian security sources and state-run Al-Qahera News said on Monday some progress had been made in the Cairo talks.The security
sources said both sides had made concessions that could help pave the way for a deal for a truce which would be staggered over three stages,
with the release of any remaining Israeli hostages and a long-term ceasefire addressed in the second stage.The concessions relate to the
Mediators suggested the return could be monitored by an Arab force in the presence of Israeli security deployments that would later be
pulled back, they added.Delegations left Cairo and consultations were expected to continue within 48 hours, the sources and Al-Qahera
end the war, withdraw its forces from Gaza, allow all civilians to return to their homes and lift a 17-year-old blockade to allow speedy
shortly or withdrawing from Gaza, saying its forces will not relent until Hamas no longer controls Gaza or threatens Israel militarily.Asked
thing is that the right people are in the right place at the right time to discuss a way in which the 133 Israeli hostages can be
soldiers from southern Gaza.This left just one brigade there, but Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the departing troops would be preparing
ground forces and, according to Israel, the last significant redoubt of Hamas combat units.Source: Reuters--Agencies
