Politico

Gaza cease-fire negotiations aren’t progressing the way U.S. officials had hoped.

Despite optimism earlier this month that a deal was close, U.S. and Israeli officials now say they are increasingly pessimistic that a deal will soon be reached.

The deaths of six hostages in Gaza over the weekend have some officials worried that the progress negotiators made in recent weeks will be blunted in the coming days by what they forecast will be strong retaliation from Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU. They worry tensions between Israel and Hamas will only increase, potentially stalling negotiations.