Hamas official: Hamas 'very close' to reaching Gaza ceasefire with Israel

On January 13, local time, a Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) official said that Hamas and Israel are "very close" to reaching a ceasefire protocol in the Gaza Strip, but there are still several key sticking points in the negotiations. The sticking points, the Hamas official said, include Israel's commitment to a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of troops from the Philadelphia corridor in southern Gaza on the border with Egypt. He also said that the two sides were also at odds over Israel's buffer zone in northern Gaza on the border with Israel. Hamas calls for a depth of 300-500 metres for the buffer zone, while Israel wants 2 kilometres.