No deal made on Gaza: Hamas official

No agreement has yet been made between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators as a 72-hour ceasefire is under way in the blockaded Gaza Strip, says a senior Hamas official.

Mousa Abu Marzook, an official from the Palestinian resistance movement, made the remarks in the Egyptian capital Cairo late on Wednesday.

Hours earlier, Tel Aviv’s officials said Israel was ready to extend the truce beyond the Friday deadline.

“There is no agreement on the extension of the truce,” Marzook said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Egyptian officials said Israeli and Palestinian delegations continued negotiations for a lasting truce between the two sides.

The delegations are holding indirect talks through Egyptian officials.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said earlier in the day that nearly 400,000 Palestinian children are in immediate need of psychological help.

The Israeli regime’s 29 days of relentless offensive against the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of nearly 1,900 Palestinians, including more than 400 children, and wounded over 9,500 others.

Israeli warplanes pounded numerous sites in the Gaza Strip, demolishing houses and burying families under the rubble. Israeli forces also began a ground offensive against the impoverished Palestinian land on July 17.

A 72-hour humanitarian truce between Hamas and Israel took effect at 8 am (0500 GMT) on Tuesday.