Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt – Hamas leaders say they are demanding concrete assurances that Israel will end its military campaign in Gaza and fully withdraw from the Palestinian territory as part of United States President Donald Trump’s proposed 20-point peace plan, according to Al Jazeera reports.
The second round of indirect negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian representatives concluded on Tuesday in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Speaking in Washington on the war’s second anniversary, President Trump said there was a “real chance” for a breakthrough in the Gaza peace process.
Senior Qatari and U.S. officials are expected to join Wednesday’s session in Egypt to continue mediation efforts.
Earlier on Tuesday, a coalition of Palestinian factions – including Hamas – issued a statement reaffirming their commitment to “resistance by all means,” emphasizing that “no one has the right to surrender the weapons of the Palestinian people.” The declaration appeared to reject one of the key provisions in Trump’s plan calling for Hamas to disarm.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said the group’s negotiating team is prioritizing an immediate end to hostilities and a “complete withdrawal of the occupation army” from Gaza. Trump’s proposal reportedly lacks a clear timetable for such a withdrawal, instead linking it to the release of 48 Israeli captives held by Hamas, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
A Hamas official, speaking to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, revealed that the movement intends to free captives in phases corresponding with Israel’s step-by-step withdrawal from Gaza.
“Tuesday’s talks focused on scheduling the release of Israeli captives and mapping withdrawal routes for Israeli forces,” the source said. “The release of the final hostage must coincide with the full departure of the occupation army.”
Senior Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya expressed deep mistrust of Israel, telling Egypt’s state-linked Al Qahera News that “Hamas wants real guarantees that the war will truly end,” accusing Israel of breaching two previous ceasefire agreements.
Israel’s Position
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marking two years since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, described the ongoing conflict as “a war for our very existence.”
He reiterated that Israel would pursue “all of the war’s objectives: the return of all hostages, the elimination of Hamas’s rule, and the assurance that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.”
Mediators Stay Flexible
Despite clear divisions, the Egypt-hosted talks are being seen as the most promising progress toward a truce so far, with both sides reportedly accepting key components of Trump’s proposal.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told Al Jazeera that mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Türkiye are “staying flexible and developing ideas as the talks evolve.”
“We don’t enter negotiations with rigid expectations,” al-Ansari said. “Formulations are being developed in real-time as discussions continue.”
He confirmed that Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, along with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, will join Wednesday’s session in Egypt to push for a breakthrough.
Even with a potential ceasefire on the horizon, major questions remain over Gaza’s postwar governance and reconstruction funding. Both Trump and Netanyahu have ruled out any governing role for Hamas. Trump’s proposal reportedly calls for a temporary “Board of Peace” made up of international representatives and Palestinian technocrats, to be co-supervised by Trump himself and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Barhoum said Hamas supports “the immediate start of reconstruction under a Palestinian national body” and would not take part in Gaza’s future administration once the war ends.
Fighting Persists
Despite ongoing talks, Israeli air raids continued across Gaza on Tuesday. According to Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, at least 10 people were killed in strikes on Gaza City’s Sabra and Tal al-Hawa neighborhoods, as well as along the road to Shati Camp.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent Hind Khoudary reported that several civilians, including a child, were killed in new attacks in Khan Younis and central Gaza.
“Everyone is waiting for a peace deal as the bombs continue to fall,” Khoudary said from az-Zuwayda. “Entire neighborhoods that people hoped to return to are still being destroyed.”
Conflict monitor ACLED estimated that Gaza has suffered more than 11,000 air and drone strikes and over 6,200 artillery attacks since the war began, accounting for 14 percent of all conflict-related deaths globally over the past two years.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 1,701 medical workers have been killed since the start of hostilities.
Source: From Al Jazeera News reports on the ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations (original reporting by Al Jazeera correspondents and agencies).
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