No progress has been made in the ceasefire talks in Cairo, and Israel is reaching a dead end, a source familiar with the details of the negotiations told The Jerusalem Post Saturday.

There were many technical discussions but no results, the source said.

Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis held protests demanding that the hostage/ceasefire deal continue.

Israel and mediating countries believe that only the Trump administration can perhaps bring the talks out of the impasse.

“When [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff arrives, things may happen. Everyone is waiting for him,” the source said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to convene a meeting on the hostage deal with senior officials and the negotiation team, an Israeli official told the Post.

Netanyahu’s meeting regarding the hostage deal finished just after midnight on Sunday morning, after approximately four hours.

Hamas is refusing the idea of extending the first phase of the deal, Israeli officials said.

The Israeli and Qatari delegations arrived in Cairo on Thursday. The delegation is led by Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Persons, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, as well as “M,” an anonymous officer from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Service). M is the former deputy of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who is reportedly no longer part of the hostage deal negotiating team.