Israeli demands for troops in Gaza blocking truce deal, sources say Disagreements over Israel's future military presence in Gaza and over Palestinian prisoner releases are obstructing a ceasefire and hostage deal, according to ten sources familiar with the round of U.S.-mediated talks that concluded last week. The sources, who include two Hamas officials and three Western diplomats, told Reuters the disagreements stemmed from demands Israel has introduced since Hamas accepted a version of a ceasefire proposalunveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden in May. All the sources said Hamas was especially concerned about the latest demand to keep troops deployed along…

Israeli military intelligence head leaves post, takes responsibility for Oct. 7 failure Israel's outgoing head of military intelligence took responsibility for his country's failures to defend its border on Oct. 7 at his resignation ceremony on Wednesday. Major General Aharon Haliva, a 38-year veteran of the military, announced his resignation in April and was one of a number of senior Israeli commanders who said they had failed to foresee and prevent the deadliest attack in Israel's history. "The failure of the intelligence corps was my fault," Haliva said at the ceremony on Wednesday, and he called for a national investigation…