US special envoy and local figures attend third day of Gaza peace talks

Top US envoys and regional figures attended the third day of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Egypt to discuss US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.

Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday along with Qatar’s prime minister and Turkey’s intelligence chief in a bid to bridge the gap that could derail a breakthrough.

A senior Hamas official told the BBC that negotiations had shown “necessary positivity” and that Israel had submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners it wanted to free in return for the release of hostages held in Gaza.

Israeli media quoted officials as expressing optimism about the deal.

This comes a day after President Trump said he was “very close to an agreement.”

The first two days of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas focused on mechanisms to end the two-year war in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory and a hostage exchange of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Gaza.

The presence of a heavyweight negotiator is expected to add momentum to the deal.

Witkoff and Kushner, who served as Middle East advisers during Trump’s first term, flew to Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday morning.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said their arrival was “very encouraging” and that they “bring with them a strong message and a strong mandate from President Trump to end the war in these negotiations.”

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and Turkish National Intelligence Director Ibrahim Kalin also attended the meeting.

And it was reported that Israeli Strategy Minister Ron Dermer, a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived leading the Israeli delegation this afternoon.

Representatives of two other Palestinian armed groups, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), also attended.

Their intervention appears to be an attempt by Hamas to align them and secure the release of hostages they are believed to be holding.

A senior Hamas official told the BBC on Wednesday morning that the delegation had submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners it wanted Israel to release in exchange for the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, up to 20 of whom are still alive.

The list includes some of the most famous Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, including Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat.

Barghouti, seen as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is serving five life sentences and 40 years in prison after being convicted of planning a 2004 attack that killed five civilians.

Sadat, the leader of the PLFP, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty in 2008 of taking part in attacks, including the assassination of an Israeli minister in 2001, and leading an “illegal terrorist organization.”

A Hamas official who spoke to the BBC said the group had “demonstrated the positivity and responsibility needed to achieve the necessary progress and complete the agreement”, but acknowledged that differences remain between the two sides.

“Mediators are making great efforts to remove all obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire,” he said, adding, “a spirit of optimism is spreading among all participants.”

But a Palestinian official familiar with the talks told the BBC there were “deep differences” over how Hamas and Israel interpreted Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

The official said differences of opinion emerged on almost every major issue, including a map showing the three phases of the Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and the schedule for hostage-detainee exchanges.

On Wednesday afternoon, mediators presented a withdrawal map described as a compromise between Hamas’ demand for troops to withdraw to positions where they were stationed in March and Israel’s demand to stick to a map distributed by the White House last week, which would have placed about 55% of Gaza under Israeli control in the first phase.

A Palestinian source said mediators were “trying to create a formula for a gradual and monitored withdrawal” and that their proposed map would leave about 40% of Gaza under Israeli control.

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper quoted several Israeli security sources as saying Wednesday afternoon that “the deal is likely to go ahead and close in the next few days.”

The source added that President Trump was “strongly involved” in the negotiations.

Yedioth Ahronoth previously reported that Israeli officials were “cautiously optimistic.”

In a statement Tuesday marking the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel that triggered the Oct. 7, 2023, war, Netanyahu did not mention the Sharm el-Sheikh talks but told Israelis they were now in a “period of fateful decisions.”

He added that Israel “will continue to act to achieve all of the objectives of the war, including repatriating all hostages, destroying the Hamas regime, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”

Khalil al-Haiya, the chief negotiator for Hamas, which was targeted in an Israeli airstrike on the Qatari capital last month, told Egypt’s state-run al-Qahera News TV on Tuesday that the group was committed to “serious and responsible negotiations.”

Haya said Hamas was ready to negotiate but needed “real guarantees” from Trump and the international community that the war would end and not resume.

President Trump told reporters at the White House that if Hamas and Israel can come to an agreement, the United States will do everything possible to ensure that everyone abides by the agreement.

“I think there is a possibility for peace in the Middle East. This goes beyond the situation in Gaza. We want the immediate release of the hostages,” he said.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Trump had asked him in a recent phone call to “convince” Hamas to accept his plan.

But he told lawmakers from his AK Party that it was also important to put pressure on Israel, calling the attack on Gaza “the biggest obstacle on the road to peace.”

Israel’s military appears to have scaled back its ground offensive against Gaza City in recent days, following President Trump’s call on Friday to “stop the bombings.”

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said Wednesday that at least eight people have died in Israeli fires in the past 24 hours. This is the lowest number of deaths reported in the last week.

Hospitals said Wednesday that two people had died while collecting food at aid distribution centers in central and southern Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had killed “several terrorists” who attempted to attack their positions in Gaza City.

Israel began military operations in response to the attack on Gaza on October 7, 2023. In the attack, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.

Israel’s subsequent military operation in Gaza has killed at least 67,183 people, including 20,179 children, according to the Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry. Although Israel disputes this, the United Nations and other international organizations consider the figures reliable.

The Defense Ministry said an additional 460 people have died from malnutrition since the war began. Of these, 182 people have died since famine was confirmed in the Gaza Strip in August by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Category (IPC).

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that starvation is occurring in Gaza and said Israel is facilitating the delivery of food and other aid.

Additional reporting by Helen Sullivan

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