Gaza truce talks in the balance as Israel and Hamas trade blame

Gaza ceasefire talks hung in the balance as Hamas and Israel on Saturday accused the other of blocking attempts to strike a deal, nearly a week into an attempt to halt 21 months of bitter fighting in the Palestinian territory.

A Palestinian source with knowledge of the indirect talks in Qatar told AFP that Israel’s proposals to keep its troops in the war-torn territory were holding up a deal for a 60-day pause.

But on the Israeli side, a senior political official, also speaking on condition of…