Representatives of Hamas, led by Khalil al-Hajá, traveled to Egypt on Sunday evening to negotiate with Israel on the peace plan, which the US hopes will bring an end to the fighting and secure the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip.
An Israeli delegation led by Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer also traveled to Cairo. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to maintain the support of his far-right coalition partners, who want the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip to continue.
Washington's top diplomat said the coming days would be crucial.
“We will see very quickly whether Hamas is serious, depending on how the technical talks on logistics proceed,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday.
Hamas makes further demands
The first phase concerns the release of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas has already declared its willingness to release 48 remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. The plan calls for the release of 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and more than 1,700 detainees following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Hamas is also reportedly demanding the release of the most prominent Palestinian prisoners, which Israel rejects.
Trump expressed optimism, saying the negotiations were progressing quickly. “I have been told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I urge everyone to act FAST,” he wrote in a social media post.
Hamas has so far not agreed to the controversial points of the US plan, including demands for disarmament, which it has long rejected. Nevertheless, Trump said Friday that he believes Hamas has shown that it is “ready for a lasting peace.”
He ordered Israel to immediately stop bombing the Gaza Strip, but the attacks continue. Local health authorities reported that Israeli aircraft and tanks killed at least 19 people on Sunday.
Agreement on everything in advance
An official familiar with the talks in Egypt said negotiators were now trying to negotiate the entire agreement at once — even before a ceasefire.
"This is a different approach than in the past, when they first agreed on the first phase of the ceasefire and then held further talks. It was during these further rounds that things stalled in the past,“ he told Reuters, adding that mediators wanted to avoid that scenario this time around.
Rubio said the timing of an agreement on the release of the hostages remained unclear, but warned that negotiations ”cannot take weeks or even days – we want it to happen very quickly."
The second phase is to include the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of the area under the security control of the Palestinian Authority. The Egyptian foreign minister described these points in particular as key demands.
The question of the future administration of the Gaza Strip and possible Palestinian statehood is meeting with the greatest resistance from Netanyahu's far-right political allies. However, according to Israeli media reports, they will not topple Netanyahu's government for the time being if he implements at least the first phase of the US peace plan.
(reuters, times of israel, est)