THREE days of international negotiations with Hamas over a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages ended today without a breakthrough, Egyptian officials said.

The talks closed less than a week before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the informal deadline for a deal, and followed Human Rights Watch saying that Israeli troops’ killing of people queueing for aid last week was part of a “decades-long pattern.”

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent weeks trying to broker an agreement for Hamas to release up to 40 hostages in return for a month-long ceasefire, the release of some Palestinian prisoners and Israel allowing an influx of desperately needed humanitarian aid into the besieged territory.