Israel and Hamas start indirect negotiations in Egypt on Trump's Gaza peace plan.
News Agency
Indirect talks focused on achieving a final agreement on a Trump administration initiative to stop the conflict in Gaza have started in the Egyptian city of the Egyptian resort town.
Local and international officials have stated that the sessions are concentrating on "creating the field conditions" for a potential swap that would see the freeing of all Israeli hostages in exchange for a quantity of Palestinian prisoners.
The group stated it consents to the negotiation framework partially, but has not responded to several essential conditions - including its disarmament and political participation in Gaza.
The government official said on Saturday that he hoped to announce the liberation of captives "soon"
Conflict Timeline
The negotiations, which will feature Middle Eastern officials conducting mediation with delegations from both the two sides individually, take place on the verge of the second anniversary of the military operation on Israeli territories on October 7th, in which about 1,200 people were lost their lives and 251 others were seized.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response. From that point, approximately 67,160 have been fatally injured by Israeli military operations in Gaza, according to the territory's medical administration.
Peace Plan Details
The detailed initiative, which has been approved by US President Donald Trump and the Netanyahu government, proposes an immediate end to hostilities and the freeing of 48 hostages, only 20 individuals are thought to be alive, in return for multiple hundreds of incarcerated individuals.
The framework requires that once both sides approve the initiative "full aid will be promptly delivered into the conflict zone"
It also specifies that the militant group would have no participation in governing Gaza, and it allows for an eventual Palestinian state.
Latest Updates
In the latest development, Hamas responded to the plan in a statement, in which the group agreed "to release all captured individuals, both alive and killed, following the exchange formula specified by the American plan" - if the proper conditions for the transfers are met.
It failed to address or approve the comprehensive proposal but said it "renews its agreement to transfer the management of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of professionals, founded on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support"
The statement failed to address of one of the crucial requirements of the proposal – that Hamas agree to its disarmament and to having no future involvement in the governance of Gaza.
Global Perspectives
Local residents characterized Hamas' response to the peace plan as unanticipated, after an extended period of indications that the organization was likely to refuse or at least heavily condition its approval of the American initiative.
Instead, the organization excluded its established limits in the public announcement, a move many view as a sign of external pressure.
European and Middle Eastern leaders have endorsed the plan. The Palestinian Authority, which controls areas of the disputed regions, has described the American initiatives as "sincere and determined"
Iran - which has been one of the group's primary supporters for many years - has also recently indicated its backing of Trump's Gaza peace plan.
Current Situation
Military strikes persisted in multiple areas of the conflict zone on the beginning of the week prior to the discussions commencing.
Defense personnel is carrying out an military operation in the metropolitan region, which it has said is aimed at achieving the release of the still-detained individuals.
A spokesperson, representing the territory's Hamas-run civil defence, indicated that "assistance vehicles have been authorized access for Gaza City since the offensive began four weeks ago"
"Remains persist we are unable to recover from areas under military occupation" he stated.
Numerous individuals of the urban center have been forced to flee after the armed services mandated relocations to a specified safe zone in the southern region, but further countless people are thought to have stayed.
The defense representative has warned that those who stay during the offensive would be "combatants and their sympathizers"
In the last 24 hours, 21 residents have been killed in Gaza and a another 96 harmed, the Hamas-run health ministry said in its current assessment.
Global media representatives have been prohibited by the government from visiting the Palestinian territory autonomously since the beginning of the hostilities, making verifying claims from both sides problematic.