Gaza Truce Talks Resume

Talks to strike a Gaza truce were expected to resume after Hamas rejected any deal that failed to end the war in the Palestinian territory and accused Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of "personally hindering" an agreement.

Negotiators seeking to halt the devastating seven-month war have proposed a 40-day pause in the fighting and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by Britain.

Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators met a Hamas delegation in Cairo and a senior Hamas source close to the negotiations said there would be "a new round" of talks.

Each side blamed the other for stalled negotiations, with a senior Hamas official insisting that the group would "not agree under any circumstances" to a truce that did not explicitly include a complete end to the war, including Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.

Despite months of shuttle diplomacy, mediators have failed to broker a new truce like the week-long ceasefire that saw 105 hostages released last November in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.

Israel has yet to send a delegation to Cairo. The Israeli official said it would do so only if there was "positive movement" on the proposed framework.

Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 34,654 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

The United Nations has warned of a "full-blown famine" in northern Gaza.

The World Health Organization said that the availability of food in the Gaza Strip had very slightly improved in the besieged Palestinian territory, which is home to 2.4 million people.

The United Nations says more than 70 percent of Gaza's residential buildings have been completely or partly destroyed, and rebuilding will require an effort unseen since the aftermath of World War II.