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A Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo for cease-fire talks, though Israel opts out.

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday for talks aimed at achieving a cease-fire in the war in Gaza and an exchange of hostages held by militants there for Palestinian prisoners, according to an official in the group, Basem Naim.

A breakthrough in the negotiations did not appear to be imminent, as no Israeli officials were present at the talks. Israel decided against sending a delegation to Cairo after Israeli officials learned Sunday morning that Hamas had refused an Israeli request to provide a list of the hostages who were still alive, said an Israeli official and a person familiar with the details of the talks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Thursday that he had requested the names of hostages who would be freed in an agreement.

Another factor that figured into Israel’s decision was that Hamas declined to consent to the terms for swapping hostages for Palestinian prisoners that the United States presented in Paris about 10 days ago, the official and the person familiar with the details said.

The U.S. outline entailed Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 40 hostages, with different numbers of prisoners being traded for different categories of hostages, according to two officials with knowledge of the negotiations.

Mr. Naim declined to respond to the claims about the Hamas refusals.

The United States has been pushing for a cease-fire ahead of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that starts in about a week, but slow progress in the talks has made that challenging.

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