By NAJIB JOBAIN, SAMY MAGDY and JOSEF FEDERMAN
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Negotiations between Israel and Hamas hit a last-minute snag on Wednesday, delaying the expected announcement of a ceasefire agreement to pause the devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel accused Hamas of trying to make changes to already agreed upon arrangements along Gaza’s border with Egypt and said it strongly rejected the move. Hamas called the claims “nonsense.” Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
The finger-pointing forced Qatar, which has been mediating weeks of painstaking negotiations, to delay an expected announcement of a deal.
It was not immediately clear how serious the dispute was, or whether the agreement was in danger of collapse.
Federman reported from Jerusalem. Magdy reported from Cairo.
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