🔗 Share this article Hamas representatives and Israeli delegates start indirect talks in the Egyptian city on American Gaza ceasefire initiative. News Agency Israel has been carrying out military actions in the northern Gaza Strip for multiple weeks. Third-party negotiations focused on achieving a lasting settlement on a Trump administration initiative to end the war in Gaza have begun in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh. Middle Eastern and regional officials have stated that the meetings are concentrating on "preparing the environment" for a possible exchange that would involve the freeing of all Israeli hostages in return for a number of detained Palestinians. Hamas has said it agrees to the negotiation framework partially, but has not responded to several key demands - including its military demobilization and governance position in Gaza. Israel's prime minister said on recently that he expected to reveal the release of captives "in the coming days" Historical Framework The talks, which will involve regional and international officials holding shuttle meetings with teams from both Israel and Hamas in isolation, take place on the eve of the two-year mark of the Hamas-led attack on Israeli territories on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were seized. The armed forces launched a campaign in Gaza in response. Following the initial attack, approximately 67,160 have been killed by armed interventions in Gaza, based on data from the region's medical administration. Peace Plan Details The 20-point plan, which has been endorsed by the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government, suggests an prompt cessation to hostilities and the freeing of 48 captives, only a portion are considered surviving, in return for multiple hundreds of detained Gazans. The framework requires that once all involved accept the plan "complete assistance will be promptly delivered into the conflict zone" It also states that the organization would have no participation in governing Gaza, and it permits an independent Palestinian nation. Current Situation In the latest development, Hamas responded to the initiative in a declaration, in which the group agreed "to liberate all captured individuals, both living and dead, according to the swap arrangement specified by President Trump's proposal" - if the required situation for the transfers are fulfilled. It did not specifically mention or accept Trump's 20-point plan but said it "reaffirms its commitment to relinquish the management of the Palestinian territory to a Palestinian body of independents, established through Palestinian national consensus and regional endorsement" The declaration made no mention of one of the key demands of the plan – that Hamas agree to its disarmament and to having no future involvement in the governance of Gaza. Regional Reactions Local residents characterized the organization's answer to the peace plan as unanticipated, after days of signals that the organization was likely to refuse or at least significantly qualify its acceptance of the American initiative. Alternatively, Hamas excluded its traditional "red lines" in the formal declaration, a decision many view as a sign of outside forces. Global and local leaders have endorsed the plan. The local administration, which controls sections of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has described the American initiatives as "authentic and resolute" Iran - which has been one of Hamas's main sponsors for decades - has also now signalled its support for Trump's Gaza peace plan. Ongoing Reality Armed attacks continued in several parts of the Palestinian territory on recently before the discussions commencing. Israel is carrying out an military operation in the metropolitan region, which it has said is aimed at obtaining the freeing of the still-detained individuals. Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the region's local emergency services, reported that "humanitarian convoys have been authorized access for the metropolitan area since the campaign commenced four weeks ago" "There are still bodies we are unable to recover from locations under defense force authority" he commented. Numerous individuals of the metropolitan area have been compelled to evacuate after the Israeli military ordered evacuations to a established protection region in the southern region, but hundreds of thousands more are thought to have stayed. The defense representative has admonished that those who stay during the combat campaign would be "combatants and their sympathizers" In the recent period, 21 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and a another 96 injured, the local medical authorities said in its current assessment. International journalists have been prohibited by Israel from accessing the Gaza Strip without supervision since the start of the hostilities, making verifying claims from both sides problematic.