Senior negotiators from Israel and Hamas convened in Egypt on Monday to iron out the specifics of President Donald Trump’s peace initiative, aimed at ending the protracted conflict and securing the release of 48 remaining hostages.
These discussions take place a day before the second anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel, during which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were abducted into the Gaza Strip, where dozens, both alive and deceased, are still held captive.
Egypt had announced on Saturday that the high-level negotiations would occur on Monday in the coastal resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, located at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, following Hamas leadership’s acceptance of a portion of the 20-point proposal.
Over the weekend, Trump urged the negotiators involved in the indirect talks to “move fast,” but also indicated he viewed Hamas’ response as constructive and called on Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza.”
Israeli military operations reportedly decreased over the weekend, though a Reuters report, citing medics, stated that 36 people, including children, were killed in a series of strikes across the enclave that impacted residential buildings.
Reports suggest Hamas remains skeptical regarding the demand for its complete disarmament and lacks confidence that Israel will cease its military objectives in the Gaza Strip after all hostages are returned.
Hamas has also apparently deemed unrealistic the plan’s requirement for all hostages to be returned within a three-day period, particularly concerning the repatriation of deceased individuals, some of whom are believed to be buried under rubble.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the return of the hostages and the potential speed of this process, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum submitted a nomination to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee on Monday, proposing the president for his involvement in attempting to end the war and secure the hostages’ return.
The U.S. 20-point plan, endorsed by Western and Arab leaders and accepted last week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would not only establish a ceasefire but would also mandate the return of all hostages, both living and deceased, within 72 hours of Hamas’s agreement to the deal.
The blueprint calls for the military withdrawal of Israeli forces and the complete disarmament of Hamas.
Members of the terrorist group will also be granted amnesty in exchange for their disarmament and a pathway to depart Gaza for a third-party nation willing to accept them.
Officials from Israel’s spy agencies Mossad and Shin Bet, Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk, and hostages coordinator Gal Hirsch, were dispatched to attend Monday’s meetings.
Hamas’ delegation was led by group leader Khalil Al-Hayya, who survived an assassination attempt last month which targeted top Hamas officials, Reuters reported.