The United States, Egypt, and Qatar are working towards reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza before the holy month of Ramadan. 

However, the negotiations held this week in Cairo have faced setbacks. 

​Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement on Saturday confirming a meeting between Mossad's Chief David Barnea and CIA Director William Burns, signaling ongoing attempts to secure a new agreement for the release of captives.

While Israel claims to be engaging with mediators, it accuses Hamas of refusing to budge and exploiting the situation for political gain at the expense of Gaza's civilian population.

However, Netanyahu rejected requests from relevant authorities and security agencies to expand the mandate given to the Israeli delegation tasked with conducting talks for a deal with Hamas, official Israeli radio reported.

Reporting by Israel’s Channel 12 attributes the stalled negotiations to differences in positions between government officials and leaders in the security agencies, based on leaked information about discussions between the war and security cabinets. 

Meanwhile, Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official, told the WSJ on Sunday that Netanyahu is to blame for the failure of the talks so far.

“The only complication in the negotiations is Netanyahu’s stance, who refuses to deal with anything on the table,” he said. 

“Netanyahu is the most dangerous person for the stability of this region. He is the fire starter.”

“We didn’t declare negotiations have been stopped. We are the party most keen to stop this war,” he said.

He said that without a deal, violence would escalate during Ramadan.