CAIRO: Talks to strike a Gaza truce were expected to resume Sunday after Hamas rejected any deal that failed to end the offensive in the Palestinian territory and accused Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of “personally hindering” an agreement, AFP reports.

Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators met a Hamas delegation in Cairo on Saturday and a senior Hamas source close to the negotiations told AFP there would be “a new round” of talks on Sunday.

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

The official, who asked not to be named, condemned Israeli efforts to secure a hostage-release deal “without linking it to ending the aggression on Gaza”. He accused Netanyahu of “personally hindering” efforts to reach a truce due to “personal interests”.

A top Israeli official said earlier that Hamas was “thwarting the possibility of reaching an agreement” by refusing to give up its demand for an end to the war. Israel has not agreed to any guarantees that the fighting will end, the official told AFP in Jerusalem.