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               Israeli Official: No Progress in Talks with Hamas

   by VOA News

   Israeli negotiators say there has been no progress during
   Egypt-brokered talks with Hamas over how to end fighting in the Gaza
   Strip.

   The comments, made by a senior Israeli official, came on Tuesday - the
   second day of a 72-hour cease-fire that for now appears to be holding.

   Negotiators from Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect talks in
   Cairo aimed at coming up with a more permanent end to the violence.

   The gap between the two sides remains wide, but both Palestinian and
   Israeli officials say they hope to make progress during an intense
   session later Tuesday.

   Demands
   Hamas is calling for a complete end to an Israeli-Egyptian blockade
   that has prevented Palestinians from leaving Gaza and made the majority
   of its residents dependent on humanitarian aid.

   Israeli says it will not loosen the restrictions unless it can ensure
   the demilitarization of Hamas, which has sent thousands of rockets into
   Israel in recent weeks.

   Over 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the
   fighting, which broke out in early July. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers
   and three civilians have also been killed.
   Humanitarian concerns

   Humanitarian groups are warning that the fighting has created a
   humanitarian catastrophe in the already impoverished coastal enclave.

   On Monday, the United Nations World Food Program said it is bringing
   food to the 730,000 people in Gaza who are not already receiving help
   from other programs.

   The WFP took advantage of the cease-fire that started on Sunday to
   begin one-time deliveries of rice and wheat flour 143,000 families on
   Monday. It says, security permitting, the distribution will be complete
   within two weeks.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/israeli-official-says-no-progress-in-
   talks-with-hamas/2410545.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/israeli-official-says-no-progress-in-talks-with-hamas/2410545.html