Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are continuing, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad said in a statement on Saturday.

“Contact and cooperation with mediators have continued in an effort to narrow differences and reach an agreement,” the statement said. The document was circulated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office as hopes of a truce during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan dim.

Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the deadlock in negotiations on the eve of Ramadan. Ramadan begins around March 10 and is celebrated by Muslims around the world.

A Hamas source told Reuters that the group’s delegation was unlikely to visit Cairo again for talks over the weekend.

Egypt, the United States and Qatar have been mediating negotiations since January. Under the current draft ceasefire agreement, Israel will release 40 hostages in exchange for dozens of Palestinians being imprisoned.

Hamas blames Israel for the deadlock in negotiations, saying Israel has refused to guarantee an end to the war or withdraw troops from the enclave. Netanyahu called the demands “delusional.”

Israeli officials say the war will only end if Hamas is defeated. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries.

In a statement celebrating Ramadan on Saturday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh vowed that Palestinians would continue fighting Israel “until they regain their freedom and independence.”

Mossad said Hamas was holding on stubbornly and aimed to escalate violence in the region during Ramadan.

Israel attacks Gaza

Dozens of families were left homeless in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Saturday after Israeli forces stormed one of the largest residential buildings there, claiming Hamas was using the neighborhood to plot attacks against Israel.

No injuries were reported.

Israel’s attacks are increasing pressure on the only part of the enclave it has yet to invade, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge.

One of the 300 residents of the tower, about 500 meters from the Egyptian border, told Reuters that Israel had given them a 30-minute warning to flee the building at night.

“People were frightened and ran down the stairs, some fell down and there was chaos. People left their belongings and money behind,” said Mohamed Nabris, adding that people tripped and fell from the stairs during the panic Among the people was the pregnant wife of a friend.

After five months of war, the situation in Gaza has deteriorated rapidly.

“People have nowhere to go safely,” said a statement released by the International Committee of the Red Cross on Saturday.

The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. Israel has launched air and land attacks on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, killing nearly 31,000 people and burying thousands more under rubble, according to the local health ministry. Neither side distinguishes between civilians and combatants. Nearly three-quarters of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced.UN says nearly entire population faces risk of famine

Mirjana Spoljalic, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, condemned the ongoing civilian casualties and urgently called for the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas.

Spoljalic also called for a cessation of hostilities in order to provide meaningful humanitarian assistance to those in need and to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the hostages. Her statement also called for humane treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody.

UNRWA funding

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS broadcast on Saturday that he was concerned that some donors had resumed funding the humanitarian agency and that more would come in weeks. Donors came on board expressing cautious optimism.

UNRWA, which provides aid and basic services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and throughout the region, has been under pressure since Israel accused 12 of its 13,000 staff in Gaza of involvement in the October 7 terror attacks in the southern region. UNRWA has been under investigation. Israel.

UNRWA said some employees released from Israeli detention said they were pressured by Israeli authorities to admit employee involvement in the attack, according to a February report by the agency.

UNRWA operates schools, medical clinics and other social services in Gaza and distributes humanitarian aid. The United Nations says some 3,000 staff are still working to deliver aid to the enclave, where 576,000 people – a quarter of the population – are one step away from famine.

“The agency I currently run is the only agency that provides public services to Palestinian refugees,” Lazzarini said.

“We are para-education and primary health. If we are to get rid of such an institution, who can bring back the millions of boys and girls who are traumatized in the Gaza Strip today to a learning environment?” Lazzarini added.

VOA’s Margaret Beshear contributed to this report. Some information provided by The Associated Press, AFP and Reuters.