Hamas and Israel on Saturday accused the other of blocking attempts to strike a Gaza ceasefire agreement, nearly a week into indirect talks between the two sides to halt 21 months of bitter fighting in the Palestinian territory.

As Israel and Hamas move closer to a ceasefire agreement, Israel says it wants to maintain troops in a southern corridor of the Gaza Strip — a condition that could derail the talks.

Talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza are stalling over the extent of Israeli forces' withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources familiar with the negotiations in Doha said on Saturday.