The United States has said that progress had been made at the latest round of Gaza truce talks, after the presence of Israeli troops on the Egyptian border emerged as a major sticking point, AFP reports.

An Egyptian source close to the negotiations told AFP the Egyptian and Qatari intelligence chiefs were also taking part.

“The discussions are taking place in Cairo… in preparation for an enlarged round of negotiations which will begin on Sunday,” the source said. “Washington is discussing with mediators new proposals to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas and for mechanisms to implement” the plan.

The Egyptian source said Sunday’s negotiations would be “a pivotal step in formulating an agreement that will be announced if Washington can pressure [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu”.

“There has been progress made. We need now for both sides to come together and work towards implementation,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Preliminary talks that began Thursday “were constructive in nature”, he said, adding that reports that the diplomacy was “near collapse” were inaccurate.