As Israel and Hamas move closer to a ceasefire agreement, Israel says it wants to maintain troops in a southern corridor of the Gaza Strip — a condition that could derail the talks. An Israeli official said an outstanding issue in the negotiations was Israel's desire to keep forces in the territory during a 60-day truce,

The move comes after four days of indirect talks between Hamas and Israel, as the US signals its belief that an agreement for a 60-day truce will be struck before the end of the week.

A Palestinian official says key sticking points at the indirect negotiations in Qatar include how aid will be distributed.