Doha (AFP) – Qatar said Tuesday more time was needed for negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism about a possible breakthrough.
"I don't think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said as indirect negotiations continued into a third day in Doha.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington, meanwhile, on his third visit to the White House since Trump returned to power.
Trump, who is pushing for a ceasefire, expressed confidence a deal could be reached, saying: "I don't think there is a hold-up. I think things are going along very well."
Qatar, a mediator along with the United States and Egypt, said the meetings in Doha were focused on a framework for the talks, while a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said no breakthrough had been achieved so far.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was set to join the talks in Doha this week.
On the ground, five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza -- one of the deadliest days this year for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory.
Gaza's civil defence meanwhile reported 29 killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday.
Israel and Hamas began the latest round of negotiations on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building.
At the White House, sitting across from Netanyahu, Trump said Hamas was willing to end the Gaza conflict, now in its 22nd month.
"They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire," Trump said when asked if ongoing clashes would derail talks.
An Israeli official accompanying Netanyahu to Washington said the proposal under discussion was "80-90 percent of what Israel wanted."
"I believe that with military and political pressure, all the hostages can be returned," the official told Israeli media.
According to Ariel Kahana of Israel Hayom daily, "President Trump and his advisers are currently exerting considerable effort to reach an agreement that would lead to the release of the hostages and could even end the war in Gaza".
However, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir opposed negotiations with Hamas, saying that "there is no need to negotiate with those who murder our fighters; they must be torn to shreds".
Gaza's civil defence agency reported 29 people killed in Israeli strikes across the territory, including three children.
Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency, said nine of those were killed in a drone strike on a camp for displaced people in southern Gaza.
"I was in front of my tent preparing breakfast for my four children -- beans and a bit of dry bread. Suddenly, there was an explosion," said Shaimaa Al-Shaer, 30, who lives in the camp.
While Israel has the full backing of the Trump administration, the US leader has increasingly pushed for an end to what he called the "hell" in Gaza and said on Sunday he believed there was a "good chance" of an agreement this coming week.
"The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The US proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel, two Palestinian sources close to the discussions had earlier told AFP.
Hamas was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system, they said.