Hamas has pushed for a permanent truce while Israel has held out for a temporary one. That wide gap has stymied efforts to end the war.

The United Nations General Assembly will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution that demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza after the United States vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council last week.

A representative of a left-wing faction fighting alongside the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza has told Newsweek his group is open to a temporary ceasefire in their war with Israel and called for greater efforts to establish a unity government among different Palestinian parties.

The latest friction in negotiations comes as the fighting nears 20 months of war and as desperation grows among hungry Palestinians and relatives of hostages in Gaza

In the war in Gaza, Israel and Hamas are getting closer to a ceasefire deal and President Trump says Iran is now a part of the negotiations.

Steve Witkoff stated in Washington on Wednesday that he has "some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution — a temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution of that conflict," adding that a new U.S. proposal would soon be presented to both parties.

The U.S. government is awaiting a response from Hamas to a U.S. ceasefire proposal in Israel, which the Israeli government has already accepted.

The latest flurry of activity between Israel and Hamas over a possible ceasefire is still far from a done deal. Meanwhile, not enough aid is getting in to Gaza as a murky plan by U.S. contractors continues its chaotic rollout.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas said Friday it was still reviewing a U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where 27 people were killed in new Israeli airstrikes, according to hospital officials.