CAIRO - Hamas said its delegation had left Cairo on March 7 amid ongoing negotiations on a ceasefire accord in Gaza that mediators hope to achieve before the start of Ramadan early next week.

After four days of talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt to secure a 40-day ceasefire ahead of the Muslim fasting month there has been no sign of progress on key sticking points, with both sides blaming the other.

"Hamas' delegation left Cairo this morning for consultation with the leadership of the movement, with negotiations and efforts continuing to stop the aggression, return the displaced and bring in relief aid to our people," the Hamas statement said.

But senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Israel had been "thwarting" efforts to conclude a ceasefire deal.

Mr Abu Zuhri told Reuters that Israel was rejecting Hamas's demands to end its offensive in the enclave, withdraw its forces, and ensure freedom of entry for aid and the return of displaced people.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his intention on March 7 of pressing on with the military campaign in Gaza.

Israel has vowed to press on with its campaign, which it says is aimed at destroying Hamas and that any ceasefire would be temporary. It has also pressed for a list of hostages held by militants in Gaza who are still alive.

“Needless to say, Israel will do whatever it takes to release our hostages. We’ve made very, very clear and this has been reiterated by the US that, unfortunately, it is Hamas who is the stumbling block right now by not telling us who is alive and who they have in their custody,” Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said on March 7.

US President Joe Biden said earlier this week that a deal for a ceasefire was in the hands of Hamas.

Negotiators from Hamas, Qatar and Egypt - but not Israel - have tried this week to secure a 40-day ceasefire in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins early next week.

The deal presented to Hamas for Gaza would free some of the hostages it still holds following the Oct 7 attack, in which Israel said 1,200 people were killed and 253 abducted. Palestinian prisoners held in Israel would also be released.

Hamas demands halt to fighting

Hamas pledged to continue the Cairo talks, but officials in the Palestinian militant group said a ceasefire must be in place before hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled.

A source had earlier said Israel was staying away from the Cairo talks because Hamas refused to provide a list of hostages who are still alive. Hamas says this is impossible without a ceasefire as hostages are scattered across the war zone.

News that the Hamas delegation had left Cairo without an accord was met with despair in Gaza, which is in the grip of a deep humanitarian crisis after five months of war.

“I feel great disappointment and despair, fear too,” said Ms Abir, who along with her 12-member family has taken refuge in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than half of the enclave’s 2.3 million people are now sheltering.

“America must apply pressure for an end to the war or a long-term truce and allow in lots of aid to all residents,” she told Reuters via a chat app.

The US Central Command and Royal Jordanian Air Force continued on March 7 with joint efforts to get food and other aid to the north of the enclave, where UN aid agencies say a large proportion of the population is on the brink of famine.

C-130s planes dropped more than 38,000 meals into the area, in their third such operation, though US officials say the process is costly and insufficient, compared to aid trucked in.

Mr Netanyahu vowed to press on with Israel’s offensive, including into Rafah, saying the alternative was to lose the war against Hamas.

“There is international pressure and it’s growing, but... we must close ranks, we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war,” he said.

“Whoever tells us not to act in Rafah is telling us to lose the war and that will not happen,” he said.

Despite earlier comments negotiations were at an impasse, the US said on March 6 that a truce accord was still possible.

"We continue to believe that obstacles are not insurmountable and a deal can be reached ... so we're going to continue to push for one," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in Washington.

Health officials in Gaza said the number of people confirmed killed in Israel's offensive had now passed 30,800. It reported 83 deaths in the past 24 hours and witnesses said the Israeli bombardments continued in Khan Younis, the southern city of Rafah, and areas in central Gaza.

They said Israel had on March 7 returned 47 bodies of Palestinians it had killed earlier during the military offensive, through its crossing with the enclave in the southern Gaza Strip, before they were buried.

Images showed bodies in blue bags lined up for burial in a shallow mass grave.

“They bring them to us, the martyrs (are) just numbered - it is not known who they are, and that is all,” said Ayman Abu Hatab, a worker in the morgue of Abu Yousef Al-Najjar hospital.

In a later statement, Hamas reiterated a call for Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and inside Israel to step up visits to the Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan to increase pressure on Israel to “agree to demands for a ceasefire”.

Negotiators had been pushing for an accord ahead of Ramadan in part because of concern that the mosque complex in Jerusalem, the third holiest shrine in Islam, might become a flashpoint for violence during the fasting month.

Israel has said it will allow a similar level of access to the site as in previous years, without providing figures. REUTERS