CAIRO, May 4. /TASS/. The talks in Cairo aimed at reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas on the settlement in Gaza will take a few more days, Egypt’s Sada al-Balad television reported.

The television channel said, citing sources, that US and Israeli representatives attending the meetings in the Egyptian capital believe that any potential agreement on a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza, would be followed by more talks. Reaching a final agreement, "will require several more days of dialogue," the report said.

According to the television channel, "negotiators in Cairo have made progress on technical aspects of a potential agreement." But according to some participants in the talks, even if Hamas accepts the proposal that was presented to it earlier, time will be needed to agree on specific details, which should eventually lead to a truce. According to the report, "discussions could be protracted and difficult."

There have been conflicting reports about whether Hamas agreed not to demand a ceasefire in the first phase of the general agreement about the settlement in the Strip. According to an Israeli representative, the condition of a cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of hostages is not being discussed. Earlier, the Israeli government insisted that the release of persons that are held by radicals in Gaza is in no way related to the military operation that Israel is conducting in the Palestinian enclave.