Indirect talks aimed at reaching a final agreement on President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan have begun in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, in what officials are describing as the most serious attempt yet to end the year long conflict.
Egyptian and Palestinian officials told the BBC the negotiations are focusing on “creating the field conditions” for a potential exchange, the release of all Israeli hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas has partially accepted the US backed proposal but remains silent on key conditions, including its disarmament and exclusion from Gaza’s future governance. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to announce a hostage release “in the coming days.”
The talks, mediated by Egyptian and Qatari officials, coincide with the second anniversary of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Since Israel’s military response began, Gaza’s Hamas run health ministry claims 67,160 Palestinians have been killed.
Trump’s 20 point peace plan, agreed with Netanyahu, calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of 48 hostages, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive, and the rapid delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. It also stipulates that Hamas must play no future role in governance, though it leaves open the possibility of an eventual Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has since restated his opposition to Palestinian statehood, saying, “It’s not written in the agreement. We said we would strongly oppose a Palestinian state.”
In its official statement, Hamas said it was ready “to release all Israeli prisoners, both living and dead, according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal,” but stopped short of endorsing the full plan. Instead, it proposed transferring Gaza’s administration to a technocratic body backed by Arab and Islamic states.
The response, notably absent of Hamas’ usual hardline rhetoric, is being interpreted as a sign of regional pressure, particularly from Iran and Qatar, both of which have now expressed cautious support for Trump’s peace initiative.
While European and Arab leaders have welcomed the US effort as “sincere and determined,” heavy Israeli bombardment continues across northern Gaza. Gaza’s civil defence says no aid trucks have entered Gaza City in four weeks, and dozens of bodies remain unrecovered from conflict zones.
As the Sharm El Sheikh talks continue, both sides appear to be testing each other’s resolve and the credibility of Trump’s most ambitious foreign policy gambit yet.
