Israel had agreed partial troop withdrawal by 9 March, but start of second phase of truce hits impasse

Talks aimed at maintaining the ceasefire in Gaza hit an impasse in Cairo on Saturday , over whether the truce should advance to a second phase.

A Hamas official said the multilateral negotiations in the Egyptian capital had made no progress on Friday, and there was no evidence the talks had resumed on Saturday, the last day of the ceasefire’s first six-week phase.