Israel and Hamas are preparing for indirect negotiations in Egypt, amid hopes for a possible agreement on ending the Gaza war based on Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Sunday that its delegation, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, had arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh and would begin the negotiations on Monday “on the mechanisms for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of [Israeli] occupation forces and a prisoner exchange”.
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The Israeli delegation, led by top negotiator Ron Dermer, will leave on Monday for the talks, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Hopes for a possible ceasefire in Gaza grew after Netanyahu said on Friday that he was hopeful a deal to release all the remaining captives could be announced this week.
United States President Trump said the talks were advancing quickly. “These talks have been very successful, and proceeding rapidly. The technical teams will again meet Monday, in Egypt, to work through and clarify the final details,” he said in a social media post on Sunday. “I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST.”
Despite a call from Trump for Israel to pause its Gaza offensive, the Israeli army has continued its bombing campaign. At least 24 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops on Sunday, sources told Al Jazeera Arabic. Among the victims were four asylum seekers who were shot near an aid distribution centre north of Rafah, the Nasser Medical Complex said.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from the town of az-Zuwayda in central Gaza, said attacks were continuing both in the areas where people have been displaced to and in Gaza City, where the majority of Israeli military assaults and the ground offensive have taken place in recent weeks.
“The Palestinians were hoping for a good night’s sleep, but that didn’t happen,” Mahmoud said.
Gaza’s Government Media Office said more than 2,700 families, comprising more than 8,500 people, have been wiped off the civil registry in two years of conflict. At least 1,015 children under one year old have been killed, along with 1,670 medical staff, 254 journalists, and 140 civil defence rescue workers.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the war in Gaza had not yet ended despite the situation being “the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released”.
Rubio urged Israel to stop bombing Gaza ahead of the discussions in Egypt. “You can’t release hostages in the middle of strikes, so the strikes will have to stop,” he told US broadcaster CBS. “There can’t be a war going on in the middle of it.”
According to Trump’s plan, Hamas would release the remaining captives and Israel would pull back troops in Gaza to the “yellow line”, where it was in August.
Despite the terms of the deal clearly stipulating Israel’s withdrawal, Israeli media quoted Defence Minister Israel Katz, saying that Israel would remain in control of the Strip. “Hamas will be disarmed, the Gaza Strip will be demilitarised, and the [Israeli army] will remain in controlling areas to protect the communities,” he said.
Arab backing for Hamas in negotiations
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement on Sunday, in which they welcomed the steps taken by Hamas on Trump’s Gaza plan, including the release of all Israeli captives and the immediate launch of negotiations on implementation mechanisms.
“The Foreign Ministers also welcomed President Trump’s call on Israel to immediately stop the bombing and to begin implementation of the exchange agreement, and they expressed appreciation for his commitment to establishing peace in the region,” the joint statement said.
They also welcomed Hamas for stating “its readiness to hand over the administration of Gaza to a transitional Palestinian Administrative Committee of independent technocrats”.
Izzat al-Risheq, a senior member of Hamas’s political bureau, said the statement marked an “important support” for efforts to end the war. He also welcomed the “clear backing for the Palestinian position in the negotiations, [which] strengthens the chances of reaching a lasting ceasefire agreement”.
“We look forward to further Arab and Islamic support in order to stop the aggression and genocide being inflicted on our people in the Gaza Strip, leading to an end of the occupation and the realisation of our Palestinian people’s aspirations to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” al-Risheq said.
Trump has dispatched two envoys to Egypt, according to the White House, sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his main Middle East negotiator, Steve Witkoff.
The US president has told Hamas that once it agrees to Israel’s initial military withdrawal line in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire would be triggered.
The talks are being held after Hamas agreed to release the Israeli captives and accept some other terms in Trump’s Gaza plan, but questions surround vexing issues, such as Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip and Hamas’s disarmament.
Asked by reporters whether there was any flexibility on his 20-point Gaza plan, Trump suggested on Sunday that some changes would still be possible. “We don’t need flexibility because everybody has pretty much agreed to it. But there’ll always be some changes,” he said.
