Israel and Hamas have begun indirect talks in Egypt on a US ceasefire proposal amid cautious optimism that the nearly two-year war in Gaza may be nearing its end, despite deep divisions between the two sides.
Negotiations will focus on the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as well as the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The three issues constitute the first phase of a 20-point plan presented by the US president, Donald Trump, last week that aims to end the war.
Though key points of the plan still need negotiation, Hamas’s acceptance of a hostage release and to relinquish power in the Gaza Strip has galvanised renewed momentum behind peace talks.
Trump on Sunday described the talks as “very successful and proceeding rapidly” and that he expected that the first phase would be completed this week, in a post on social media. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said he expected the talks to last just a few days and that he hoped he could announce the release of all Israeli hostages in the coming days.
Despite the optimism, large gaps remain between Hamas and Israel. The Trump plan is large in scope but scant on details, and key points of the plan still need to be discussed.
The talks on Monday began with a meeting between Arab mediators and the Palestinian delegation after which mediators would then meet with the Israeli delegation. Egyptian and Qatari mediators would then discuss both sets of talks before meeting the US envoy Steve Witkoff, according to Egyptian media.
The first topic of discussion is the mechanism of a hostage release, which under the terms of the Trump plan, should happen within 72 hours of a ceasefire. Hamas officials have already warned they will probably need more time to locate the remains of hostages that are buried under rubble.
The logistics of how to coordinate a hostage release have yet to be decided, though the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday offered to help transfer prisoners and hostages as an impartial humanitarian actor. It previously facilitated hostage releases during a ceasefire in January.
Negotiators have to agree which Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails. The Palestinian delegation is likely to ask for political figures, such as the Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi, who are widely popular in the West Bank and Gaza. Rightwing members of Netanyahu’s coalition have put pressure on to ensure such popular figures remain behind bars, Israeli media has reported.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right public security minister, threatened to quit the government if Hamas still existed after the release of hostages, adding another complication to already fragile peace talks.
The US has asked Israel to stop bombing Gaza, with the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, saying on Sunday that a cessation in bombing was necessary to facilitate the release of hostages.
Despite this, Israel has continued to strike and fire on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 19 people, including two aid seekers, in the last 24 hours, according to the Gaza ministry of health. Israel on Saturday said it was only carrying out defensive strikes in Gaza.
The talks have been hailed by Palestinian, Israeli, western and Arab officials, who have urged both sides to reach a lasting truce on the eve of the war’s second anniversary.
Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, welcomed the Trump plan on Monday, which he said could lead to “lasting peace.” “A ceasefire, the return of hostages and detainees, the reconstruction of Gaza, and the start of a peaceful political process leading to the establishment and recognition of a Palestinian state mean that we are on the right path toward lasting peace and solid stability,” Sisi said in an address commemorating the anniversary of the 6 October 1973 war with Israel.
If implemented, Trump’s plan would result in an immediate end to fighting in Gaza, the release of all 48 hostages held by Hamas – 20 of whom are believed to still be alive – the disarmament of the militant group and the handing over of power from Hamas to an international transitional governing body headed by Trump. Israel in return would gradually withdraw to a buffer zone at the edges of the strip, and return nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The plan would also send a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza – parts of which are experiencing famine due to an Israeli aid blockade – and reconstruction funds for the demolished strip.
If talks manage to succeed in reaching a consensus on the first phase of the Trump plan, they will then have to grapple with more existential issues concerning the long-term future of Gaza, including Hamas’s arms, long-term withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, the makeup of the transitional governing body and a pathway to a Palestinian state.
The EU would like to play a role in the transitional governing body in Gaza, the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told reporters on Monday. “Yes we feel that Europe has a great role and we should also be onboard with this,” Kallas said, after being asked if the EU desired to be on what Trump called his “board of peace”.
Pressure for an end to the war grew in Israel over the weekend as frustration with the government’s handling of ceasefire efforts intensified. Families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza sent a letter to the Nobel prize committee asking it to award the peace prize to Trump for his efforts to end the war. Trump has longed for a Nobel peace prize, a fact he has not been shy about.
“We strongly urge you to award President Trump the Nobel peace prize because he has vowed he will not rest and will not stop until every last hostage is back home,” the families said in their letter.
In Gaza, exhausted residents prayed for an end to the war. Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,160 Palestinians and wounded about 170,000. Israel launched the war after Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages on 7 October 2023.
Israel stands accused of committing genocide in Gaza by a UN commission of inquiry, the world’s leading association of genocide scholars and several human rights organisations. Israel denies the claim and says it has only acted in self-defence.
