There is no breakthrough in negotiations for an agreement with Hamas on the release of hostages
in exchange for a temporary truce.
"The information of progress in the negotiations and of a turning point - said an Israeli source, most likely referring to international media that speak of a 30-day truce - are not correct and many distances still remain".
"It's all very complicated and there is a continuous hardening of Hamas' positions. Nobody - he concluded - must be deceived, it will take a long time".
British Foreign Minister David Cameron's trip to the Middle East will begin today in Israel and continue in the Palestinian territories, Qatar and Turkey.
London makes this known.
Cameron will hold "high-level talks" with regional leaders to put an end to what he described as a "desperate" situation in Gaza, a British Foreign Office statement said.
Cameron will focus discussions on sending more aid to Gaza, releasing more hostages and achieving a "sustainable and permanent ceasefire".
The British Foreign Minister will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz to talk about humanitarian aid and civilian victims in the Strip, London specifies.
Cameron will also meet Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to reiterate the UK's support for a two-state solution "so that Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace", the statement said.
Meanwhile,
the Israeli army said last night that it had killed over 100 Hamas militiamen in the last 24 hours during
ongoing fighting in the western area of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
"Troops on the ground are continuing their mission with determination," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said after an explosion killed 21 of their soldiers in what was the deadliest incident for the ground operation. Israeli in the Strip.
"Our forces - IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari explained at a press conference - are continuing a large offensive against western Khan Yunis, one of the main Hamas strongholds. This is a complex, densely populated area, and many terrorists they hide, even in sensitive sites."
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