'Gaps have narrowed in Gaza truce talks'

Gaps between Israel and Palestinian resistance movement Hamas over a possible Gaza ceasefire have narrowed, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials' remarks Monday, though crucial differences have yet to be resolved.

A fresh bid by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US to end the fighting and release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners has gained momentum this month, though no breakthrough has yet been reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday said progress had been made in hostage negotiations with Hamas in Gaza but that he did not know how much longer it would take to see the results.

A Palestinian official familiar with the talks said while some sticking points had been resolved, the identity of some of the Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in return for hostages had yet to be agreed, along with the precise deployment of Israeli troops in Gaza.

His remarks corresponded with comments by the Israeli diaspora minister, Amichai Chikli, who said both issues were still being negotiated. Nonetheless, he said, the sides were far closer to reaching agreement than they have been for months.

"This ceasefire can last six months or it can last 10 years, it depends on the dynamics that will form on the ground," Chikli told Israel's Kan radio. Much hinged on what powers would be running and rehabilitating Gaza once fighting stopped, he said.

The duration of the ceasefire has been a fundamental sticking point throughout several rounds of failed negotiations. Hamas wants an end to the war, while Israel wants an end to Hamas' rule of Gaza first.

"The issue of ending the war completely hasn't yet been resolved," said the Palestinian official.

Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, a member of Netanyahu's security cabinet, told Israel's Army Radio that the aim was to find an agreed framework that would resolve that difference during a second stage of the ceasefire deal.

Chikli said the first stage would be a humanitarian phase that will last 42 days and include a hostage release.

At least 24 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes Monday, medics said.

Among the dead were four Palestinians killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a group of Palestinians tasked with protecting aid trucks into Gaza, medics said.

One of Gaza's few still partially functioning hospitals, on its northern edge, an area under intense Israeli military pressure for nearly three months, sought urgent help after being hit by Israeli fire.

Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate northern Gaza to create a buffer zone, which Israel denies.

On Monday, the United Nations' aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said Israeli forces had hampered efforts to deliver much-needed aid in northern Gaza.