Gaps in Gaza ceasefire talks under way in Qatar between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas can be bridged but it might take more than a few days to reach a deal, Israeli officials say.
The new push by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators to halt fighting in the battered enclave has gained pace since Sunday when the warring sides began indirect talks in Doha and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set out to Washington.
Netanyahu met on Monday with US President Donald Trump, who said on the eve of their meeting that a ceasefire and hostage deal could be reached this week.
The Israeli leader was scheduled to meet Vice-President JD Vance on Tuesday.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the ceasefire proposal, would travel to Doha this week to join discussions there, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
The ceasefire proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely.
Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would not agree to end the fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled.
At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive.
Palestinian sources said on Monday that there were gaps between the sides on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Senior Israeli officials briefing journalists in Washington, said it might take more than a few days to finalise agreements in Doha but they did not elaborate on the sticking points.
Another Israeli official said progress had been made.
Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, who sits in Netanyahu's security cabinet, said there was "a substantial chance" a ceasefire would be agreed.
"Hamas wants to change a few central matters, it's not simple, but there is progress," he told Israel's public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday.
The continuing talks came as five Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack, the Israeli military said, while Gaza health officials said 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes.
An Israeli security official said explosive devices were detonated against the soldiers during an operation in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza.
Militants also opened fire on the forces who were moving the wounded troops, the official said, injuring 14 soldiers, two of them seriously.
It brings the toll of soldiers killed to 888 since the war against Hamas began.
Netanyahu sent his condolences for the deaths, saying the soldiers fell "in a campaign to defeat Hamas and to free all of our hostages".
Health officials at the Nasser Hospital, where victims of the Israeli strikes were taken, said one of the strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing four people.
A separate strike in Khan Younis killed four people, including a mother, father, and their two children, officials said.
In central Gaza, Israeli strikes hit a group of people, killing 10 people, according to Awda Hospital in Nuseirat.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes, but it blames Hamas for any harm to civilians, saying the militant group operates out of populated areas.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza.
Israel's subsequent campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, sparked a humanitarian crisis and left much of the territory in ruins.
with AP