Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Thursday the Palestinian militant group was studying a proposal for a truce in the nearly seven-month war raging in Gaza with a "positive spirit", even as the talks continue to drag on after several days without much sign of an agreement. Oliver McTernan, director of the Forward Thinking NGO, says the most likely sticking point in the negotiations is that Hamas is asking for a permanent ceasefire, rather than just a temporary truce.