Israel and Hamas talk but to brick walls

When it was announced that Israel and Hamas would talk about a ceasefire, it might have seemed a positive development. But the two sides in the ghastly war in Gaza are so far apart that I doubt a ceasefire of any kind will hold for more than a day or so. Hamas demands an end to the war and the withdrawal of all Israel Defence Forces troops, and that's not going to happen, not according to Benjamin Netanyahu. And, understandably, Netanyahu wants all remaining hostages, dead and alive, to be released and returned to their families, and that's not going to happen unless the IDF gets out of Gaza. Voila! A vicious circle. We might get a couple of hostages released with something offered by Israel. But a long-term ceasefire? An end to the war? Still, I fear, a long way to go.