As Israel and Hamas move closer to a ceasefire agreement, Israel says it wants to maintain troops in a southern corridor of the Gaza Strip — a condition that could derail the talks. An Israeli official said an outstanding issue in the negotiations was Israel's desire to keep forces in the territory during a 60-day truce,

Hamas on Thursday said it opposes any ceasefire deal that includes a large Israeli military presence in Gaza, after offering to release some hostages and as the civil defence reported scores of civilians killed across the Palestinian territory.