Egypt will host negotiations as both sides review the US president’s 20-point peace plan
Ron Dermer, Khalil al-Hayya, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner (Getty/AP/AFP)
US President Donald Trump has demanded that everyone involved in Gaza peace talks “move fast” to end the war ahead of anticipated talks over the release of the remaining hostages.
Egypt has begun mediating negotiations between the two sides on Monday after America and Israel presented a 20-point plan for the cessation of the conflict in the besieged Strip last week.
It included demands for Hamas to disarm and release all hostages and for the creation of a transitional authority led by the US and former British prime minister Tony Blair.
Israel said it would free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences, 1,700 people including all women and children detained from Gaza and return the bodies of 15 Palestinians for each hostage.
President Trump said Hamas had 72 hours to respond, but experts have warned that the process could take time. Hamas has partially accepted the deal, as long as “appropriate field conditions” are met.
Over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war erupted following Hamas’ 7 October, 2023 attacks on Israel, which killed nearly 1,200 people.
Who is at the table for negotiations in Egypt?
As indirect negotiations begin at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, we look at who will be taking part in the highly-anticipated discussions.
Israel’s delegation will be headed by top negotiator and Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who will join later in the week according to some reports. Hamas’ delegation will be led by Hamas senior official and former deputy chairman Khalil al-Hayya.
Al-Hayya was one of the targets of Israel’s failed assassination attempts in Doha, Qatar last month.
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are also expected to join the talks, according to Egyptian state media’s Al-Ahram.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told The Independent indirect talks in Egypt have just started.
The source said that there was a specific time frame – “there a lot of details to discuss regarding the release of the hostages”.
Reports have circulated that Hamas have expressed concern about the field conditions surrounding the hostage release.
Who is Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya?
Khalil al-Hayya is the former deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau.
He was the target of an assassination attempt by Israel after it bombed Doha, Qatar, in a move condemned by the international community, including the US. His son Himam al-Hayya was killed in the strike.
Al-Hayya has risen in prominence following the killings of Hamas figureheads Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, and is at the centre of peace negotiations in Egypt on Monday.
“The pain of losing those close to me does not erase the killing and destruction in the Gaza Strip,” al-Hayya said in his first appearance since the assassination attempt.
One son was killed in an Israeli strike in 2008 while leading a rocket brigade, and another son, daughter-in-law and grandson were killed in an airstrike on his home in 2014.
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Talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have begun, according to Egyptian state TV
Long-awaited talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have begun, according to Al Qahera News, Egypt’s state TV.
Preparatory meetings were expected to take place between representatives of Hamas, Qatar and Egypt this morning in Cairo, before indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, a senior Palestinian official told the BBC.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are then to go ahead in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, an Egyptian official and three Israeli sources told CNN. Negotiators from the US, Israel and Hamas were expected to take part.
German Chancellor hopes ceasefire will be reached in ‘days’
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed hope that an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages will be reached in the coming days, a government spokesperson said.
Mr Merz spoke with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on the phone on Monday.
The spokesperson added that Hamas should lay down its arms. (The Independent)