Efforts to end the two-year Gaza war gained fresh momentum on Wednesday as top United States envoys and regional mediators gathered in Egypt for a new round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas under President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Trump’s senior advisers, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, arrived in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh alongside Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin. The talks, now in their third day, are being viewed as a critical step toward achieving a long-term ceasefire.
A senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group had shown “necessary positivity” in the negotiations and had submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners it wants released in exchange for Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Israeli officials, meanwhile, told local media they were “cautiously optimistic” about the discussions.
President Trump also struck an upbeat tone, saying, “There’s a real chance that we could do something.”
Focus On Ceasefire And Withdrawal
Negotiations so far have centered on mechanisms for ending hostilities, a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Mediators hope the presence of high-level negotiators from Washington, Doha, Ankara, and Cairo will push both sides toward an agreement.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi described the US delegation’s arrival as “very encouraging,” noting that they came with “a strong message and mandate from President Trump to end the war in this round of talks.”
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is leading the Israeli delegation, while representatives of Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are participating alongside Hamas. Their involvement is seen as an effort by Hamas to align all Palestinian factions behind any deal.
Hostage-Prisoner Exchange Proposal
According to a senior Hamas official, the group’s proposed list of prisoners includes prominent figures such as Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat. Barghouti, often regarded as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is serving multiple life sentences for orchestrating attacks during the Second Intifada. Saadat, the PFLP leader, is serving 30 years for leading an outlawed group and involvement in the 2001 assassination of an Israeli minister.
While Hamas insists it has approached the talks responsibly, sources close to the negotiations say significant differences persist. Chief among them are disagreements over the scope and timing of Israeli troop withdrawals, and how hostage releases should align with the ceasefire phases.
Trump’s 20-Point Peace Framework
A Palestinian official familiar with the talksp said disputes had emerged over several of the 20 points in Trump’s plan. Hamas reportedly wants Israel to withdraw from major Gazan cities first, while Israel prefers to follow a map provided by the White House that leaves about 55% of Gaza under Israeli control in the initial phase.
The Trump proposal calls for all hostages to be freed within 72 hours and for further Israeli withdrawals to be tied to the disarmament of Hamas.
Regional Involvement And Reactions
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan revealed that Trump had asked him to help persuade Hamas to accept the peace plan. Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party, Erdoğan stressed that pressure must also be applied to Israel, calling its military actions in Gaza “the greatest obstacle to peace.”
On the ground, reports suggest Israel has scaled back its bombardment of Gaza City in recent days following Trump’s appeal last week to “stop the bombing.”
Humanitarian Toll
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israeli strikes have killed more than 67,000 people since the war began on 7 October 2023, including over 20,000 children. The United Nations considers the ministry’s figures generally reliable, though Israel disputes them. The ministry also reports that at least 460 people have died from malnutrition, with conditions worsening since the UN declared a famine in Gaza City in August.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, in a statement marking the anniversary of the Hamas-led attack that triggered the conflict, reaffirmed Israel’s war objectives: “We will continue to act to achieve all our goals, the return of all hostages, the destruction of Hamas’s regime, and ensuring Gaza can no longer threaten Israel.”
Despite deep divisions, mediators expressed hope that this week’s talks could yield the first real breakthrough toward ending one of the region’s most devastating conflicts in decades.
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