Delegations from Hamas, Israel, and the United States are expected to meet in Egypt on Monday for high-stakes negotiations aimed at ending nearly two years of war in Gaza, with US President Donald Trump calling on all sides to move fast to secure peace.
The talks, scheduled to take place in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, come amid cautious optimism following positive responses from both Hamas and Israel to Trump’s proposal for a truce and a hostage-prisoner exchange deal.
Naijaonpoint reports that in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, President Trump said he had received positive discussions with Hamas and with “allies around the world,” including several Arab and Muslim nations.
“I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST,” Trump wrote.
According to the plan, the first phase of the peace process would involve the release of 47 Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees currently imprisoned in Israel.
A senior Hamas official confirmed to AFP that the group’s lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, met Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Monday morning, ahead of the main session.
Negotiations will aim to “determine the date of a temporary truce,” the official said, describing it as the first step toward implementing Trump’s broader peace framework.
Under the proposal, Israel is expected to release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 detainees arrested during the ongoing war.
The White House confirmed that President Trump has dispatched two senior envoys, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East negotiator Steve Witkoff, to join the talks in Egypt.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also urged restraint, calling on Israel to halt airstrikes in Gaza ahead of the negotiations.
“You can’t release hostages in the middle of strikes, so the strikes will have to stop,” Rubio told CBS on Sunday.
Netanyahu Expresses Hope for Hostage Release
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that an Israeli delegation would depart for Egypt on Monday, expressing hope that the hostages could be released “within days.”
The meeting comes on the eve of the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, which left 1,219 people dead, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.
Since then, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 67,139 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, figures the United Nations has described as credible.
Hamas Demands End to Strikes Before Deal
According to a Palestinian source close to Hamas, the group has insisted that any agreement must begin with Israel halting “military operations across all areas of the Gaza Strip.”
The source said Hamas also demanded a stop to air, reconnaissance, and drone activities, as well as a complete withdrawal from Gaza City.
“In return, Hamas will also halt its military operations,” the source added.
Despite these talks, Israeli strikes continued overnight. Footage from AFPTV showed thick smoke rising over Gaza’s skyline on Sunday, while the Gaza Civil Defence Agency reported that at least 20 people were killed, including 13 in Gaza City.
Trump’s Radical Peace Plan, endorsed by Netanyahu, calls for an immediate halt to hostilities, the release of hostages within 72 hours, and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
It also requires Hamas’s disarmament, a condition the group has consistently described as a red line.
The plan further proposes that post-war Gaza be administered by a technocratic government overseen by a transitional authority led by Trump himself, removing Hamas and other factions from governance.
“We hope Trump will pressure Netanyahu and force him to stop the war,” said Ahmad Barbakh, a resident of Al-Mawasi.
“We want the prisoner exchange deal to be completed quickly so that Israel has no excuse to continue the war.”
Despite the ongoing negotiations, Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, warned that if the Cairo talks failed, the army would return to fighting in Gaza.
“Operational conditions have changed, but our resolve remains firm,” Zamir said.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Civil Defence confirmed that airstrikes and artillery shelling resumed in Khan Yunis and parts of Gaza City on Sunday night and Monday morning.
“There has been a noticeable decrease in the number of air strikes since last night. The tanks and military vehicles have slightly pulled back,” said Muin Abu Rajab, a resident of Gaza City’s Al-Rimal neighbourhood.
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