Gaza ceasefire talks stall as Ramadan deadline looms

Ceasefire discussions between Hamas and mediators concluded in Cairo on Tuesday (March 5) with group negotiators to stay in Cairo for further ceasefire talks.

The Cairo talks have been billed as a final hurdle to reach the first extended ceasefire in the war between Hamas and Israel - a 40-day truce during which Israeli hostages would be freed and aid pumped into Gaza - ahead of Ramadan, which is due to begin on March 10.

READ MORE

Germany promises investigation after leaked military talks published

Dutchman sets new world record four decades after heart transplant

Zhang Zhilei takes inspiration from boxing great Muhammad Ali to beat Joseph Parker

"The delegation will remain in Cairo on Tuesday for more talks, they are expected to wrap up this round later today," said a Hamas official. Egypt's Qahera television also reported the talks had been extended for a third day, but said they were "facing difficulties."

Earlier, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said the militant group had presented its proposal for a ceasefire agreement to mediators and was now waiting for a response from the Israelis, who have stayed away from this round.

"(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu doesn't want to reach an agreement and the ball now is in the Americans' court" to press him for a deal, Naim said. A senior Israeli official, asked about Naim's comments that Israel was holding up the deal, said: "The claim is incorrect. Israel is making every effort to reach an agreement. We are awaiting a response from Hamas."

Israel has declined to comment publicly on the talks in Cairo. Egyptian security sources said on Monday (March 4) they were still in touch with the Israelis to allow the negotiations to continue without an Israeli delegation present.

Hunger grips Gaza

Famine is now gripping the Gaza Strip as aid supplies have dwindled dramatically over the past month. Vast areas of the territory are completely cut off from food, with people in some regions reportedly resorting to eating cactus flesh as a last resort. Gaza's few functioning hospitals, already overwhelmed by the wounded, are now filling with children starving to death.

Nurse Diaa Al-Shaer said such emaciated children were now pouring into the clinic in unprecedented numbers. "We will face a large number of patients who suffer from this, which is malnutrition," she said.

Israel says it is willing to allow in more aid to Gaza through the two checkpoints on the southern edge of the territory it has permitted to open, and blames UN and other aid agencies for failing to distribute it more widely.

The aid agencies say this has become impossible due to a breakdown of law and order and it is up to Israel, whose troops have stormed Gaza's towns and patrol them, to provide access and security for food distribution.

WHO: Malnutrition 'particularly extreme' in north Gaza

Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative for Gaza and the West Bank, said on Tuesday that malnutrition in northern Gaza was "particularly extreme."

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said that a quarter of the population - 576,000 people - are one step from famine.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday