The Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel traded blame on Wednesday over their failure to conclude a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in past days.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts as the two sides inch closer to a deal that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza. It emerged last week that a ceasefire deal which would also see Israeli hostages freed was believed to be close,

Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday Israel has set new conditions that have led to delays in reaching a Gaza ceasefire agreement. Hamas said, however, that it was showing flexibility and that the talks on a ceasefire,

Israel and Hamas on Wednesday accused each other of obstructing negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after Israel withdrew its negotiators from the talks the previous day. Israeli media reported on Wednesday that the refusal by the Palestinian Islamist militia Hamas to hand over a list of the names of the hostages it still holds is hindering progress in the negotiations.