Israel/Palestine

Hamas official terrorist slams Israeli ‘refusal’ of Gaza deal over border troops

A Hamas official on Friday accused Israel’s prime minister of refusing to agree to a final truce accord for Gaza, where the presence of Israeli troops on the Egyptian border remained a major sticking point.

An Israeli team was in Cairo “negotiating to advance a hostage (release) agreement,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Omer Dostri told AFP late on Thursday.

But Hamas representatives were not taking part and an official from the movement, Osama Badran, told AFP on Friday that Netanyahu’s insistence that troops remain on the Philadelphi border strip reflects “his refusal to reach a final agreement.”