Sharm el-Sheikh (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Delegations from Hamas, Israel, and the United States are set to meet in Egypt on Monday for talks. President Donald Trump has called on negotiators to “move fast” to bring an end to the nearly two-year conflict in Gaza.
Both Hamas and Israel have reacted favorably to Trump’s proposal to cease hostilities and release captives in Gaza, in exchange for Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
Trump’s plan includes disarming Hamas and fully withdrawing Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Previous negotiation rounds also stalled due to disagreements over the names of Palestinian prisoners the Islamist group suggested for release.
Who will represent Hamas in the negotiations?
Hamas’s chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who was targeted along with other leaders in Israeli strikes in Doha last month, was scheduled to meet with mediators from Egypt and Qatar in Cairo on Monday morning, according to a senior official from the group. This meeting precedes discussions in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh.
The official stated that negotiations will aim to “determine the date of a temporary truce” and establish conditions for the initial phase of the plan, during which 47 hostages held in Gaza are to be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
On Monday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi endorsed Trump’s plan, stating it provides “the right path to lasting peace and stability.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, optimistic about the hostages’ potential release soon, announced that his government’s delegation would leave for Egypt on Monday to hold talks. The White House stated that Trump had also sent two representatives to Egypt—his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Middle East negotiator Steve Witkoff.
What are the key terms of Trump’s Gaza peace plan?
Under Trump’s proposal, Israel is expected o free 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and over 1,700 detainees from the Gaza Strip held during the conflict, in exchange for the hostages.
Hamas has asserted that it should shape the territory’s future, despite Trump’s roadmap, which states that it and other factions “should not have any role in governing Gaza.” Under the proposal, a technocratic body would manage the territory, supervised by a transitional authority led by Trump.
