As Gaza truce winds down, no progress in negotiations

CAIRO , Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Israeli and Palestinian negotiators remain far apart Monday as a five-day truce in Gaza is about to expire.

The cease-fire is scheduled to expire at 5 P.M. EDT Monday, and no extension of the truce -- or any breakthrough in a peace accord -- has been announced by negotiators engaged in talks, brokered by the Egyptian government, in Cairo.

An unnamed Palestinian official told MENA, Egypt's state-run news agency, neither side in the talks is compromising, with Israel seeking long-term assurances of security and Palestinian officials calling for a removal of blockades and other obstructions to borders and to trade.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday no peace would come unless Hamas militants in Gaza ended rocket fire into Israel, adding, "Only if there is a clear answer to Israel's security needs, only then will we agree to reach an understanding."

The Palestinian Health Ministry announced a revised casualty count within Gaza, saying 2,016 have been killed and 10,196 injured. Israel has confirmed the deaths of 64 of its military personnel.