Gaza ceasefire negotiations unlikely to restart for weeks, diplomats say

Israeli soldiers take positions near the Gaza border. Hamas has told the Iranian foreign minister that it has the means to resist Israel for several years Photograph: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP

Diplomats at the annual Doha Forum conference in Qatar have said they are not expecting any reopening of Gaza ceasefire talks for some weeks and say their resumption may turn on Israel being able to point to the killing or capture of some of Hamas’s key leaders as a sign that its military operation has achieved its purpose.

The US believes this can be achieved as early as Christmas, but different timeframes are circulating.