Optimism grows for Gaza peace deal as top US, Qatari and Turkish officials join talks | Israel-Gaza war

The third day of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Egypt was attended by senior US, Qatari and Turkish officials as cautious optimism grew that a permanent ceasefire to end the two-year war in Gaza could be on the horizon.

US Middle East ambassador Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Sharm El Sheikh, where the talks were held. Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin also attended the Egyptian seaside resort to attend the talks.

The presence of senior officials from the three countries has raised hopes that this round of talks could result in a deal, even if serious gaps remain between the two sides.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that “great progress” had been made in the talks and that if they were successful, a ceasefire would be declared.

Hamas said it was seeking international guarantees that Israel would not continue bombing Gaza after the group released all living and dead hostages it captured on October 7, 2023; this was his main trump card over Israel.

In mid-March, Israel continued fighting in Gaza, unilaterally ending the ceasefire and refusing to move to the second phase of negotiations that would have led to an end to the war.

Khalil al-Hayya, the leader of the Palestinian negotiating team and a senior Hamas official, said in an interview with Egyptian television on Wednesday that the group needed firm guarantees from Trump that the war “will not return”.

While Hamas has agreed to three parts of Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza (namely, the release of all hostages in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, the surrender of power in the strip, and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza), the rest of the deal still needs to be discussed.

Issues still to be negotiated include demands for the disarmament of Hamas, how and when Israeli troops will withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and the creation of an international technocratic body to govern Gaza.

The logistics of the hostage-prisoner exchange still need to be figured out. Tahir al said Hamas gave mediators a list of Palestinian prisoners it wanted to be released from Israeli prisons.–Nounou is a senior Hamas official.

Right-wing members of the Israeli government have pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to allow the release of some prisoners, such as Marwan Barghouti, who is often cited as a future Palestinian political leader according to Israeli media.

Netanyahu should seek “complete victory” against Hamas in Gaza, far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Wednesday while praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the disputed site that is Islam’s third holiest site and Judaism’s holiest site. Hamas described the visit as a “deliberate provocation”.

Hamas-allied militant groups are also participating in the talks, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which are holding some Israeli hostages as Hamas tries to form a united Palestinian front.

Both Israel and Hamas have said they are committed to ensuring the talks are successful. Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday that Israel was “cautiously optimistic” about the discussions. Hamas also said it would work in good faith to ensure the talks result in a permanent ceasefire.

But both sides, in separate statements, laid out conflicting visions of how they see the long-term prospects of the ceasefire. Netanyahu has twice said that the Israeli army will remain in Gaza; This was clearly against Trump’s plan.

While Hamas did not mention disarmament in its statement on Tuesday, some officials in interviews with Arab media rejected the idea of ​​completely disarming the group.

The Trump administration and its Arab allies, as well as regional players such as Türkiye, have thrown their weight behind the current round of peace talks in an effort to quickly implement a ceasefire that has eluded negotiators for two years. Trump said he wanted the Israeli hostages released this week and threatened to “totally destroy” Hamas if it did not accept the deal.

Trump’s plan calls for an immediate end to hostilities in Gaza, the release of all 48 hostages held by Hamas (20 of whom are believed to be still alive), the disarmament of Hamas, and the handing over of governing authority over the Gaza Strip to an international transitional authority headed by Trump. In return, Israel would gradually withdraw to the buffer zone on the edges of the Strip and send back approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

In addition to humanitarian aid to alleviate the famine that destroyed parts of Gaza as a result of the Israeli blockade, reconstruction funds for the destroyed Strip will also be increased.

According to Reuters, in connection with the talks in Egypt, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend a ministerial meeting in Paris the next day to meet with his counterparts involved in the peace process in Gaza.

According to the Associated Press, the potential international stabilization force in Gaza, the international organization aiming to govern the region, the disarmament of Hamas, humanitarian aid and reconstruction will be discussed at the meeting.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar criticized the ministerial meeting for not including the country in the meeting, describing it as “fabricated behind Israel’s back”. Saar said he hoped the meeting would not jeopardize the release of the hostages.

Despite the US calling for a ceasefire on Friday, Israel continued to strike Gaza as negotiations progressed. According to the Gaza health authority, at least 10 people lost their lives as a result of Israeli attacks and fire in the last 24 hours.

At least 67,183 Palestinians were killed and approximately 170,000 Palestinians were injured in Israel’s military operations in Gaza in the last two years. Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants killed nearly 1,200 people and took 251 hostage on October 7, 2023.

A growing number of institutions, including the UN commission of inquiry, have concluded that Israel committed genocide in its two-year war in Gaza. Israel denies the allegation, saying it acted solely in self-defense.