President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will join Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt on Wednesday, as Hamas said the two sides had taken an initial step toward a key point of the U.S. plan to end the devastating war.
The arrival of the U.S. delegation, as well as the leader of mediator Qatar, comes after a second day of indirect talks as Israel and Palestinians mourned the two-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks and the brutal conflict that has followed.
Hamas released a statement Wednesday saying that a list of Palestinian prisoners who would be released under a deal had been provided to Israel.
“The mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to implementing the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails among all,” the militant group said.
The release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza and of 1,950 Palestinian prisoners are key parts of Trump’s 20-peace proposal.
Israel has not yet commented on the Hamas statement.
Top Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya said Tuesday that the group had come “to engage in serious and responsible negotiations.”
Hamas was ready to reach a deal, but needed a “guarantee” to end the war and ensure “it is not repeated,” he told Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not comment on the status of the talks, but told Israelis Tuesday they were in “fateful days of decision.”
Trump expressed optimism about the talks, telling reporters in Washington there was “a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El Sisi said Wednesday that the messages he had received out of the talks were “very encouraging.”
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani is also set to join the talks, which are taking place in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Qatar wants international guarantees, led by the U.S., that what is negotiated in Egypt will lead to Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the entry of more aid, and a permanent end to the war, foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told Saudi Arabian news channel al-Hadath on Tuesday.
But Israel’s far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Netanyahu to pursue “complete victory” over Hamas in Gaza, in a video posted on X that was filmed by the mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
Another video showed him praying at the compound, his latest challenge to a decades-old understanding allowing only Muslim worship at the site.
Israel has continued its assault on Gaza while the talks have been taking place. Its military campaign has killed more than 67,000 people, reducing much of the enclave to rubble following the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken to Gaza as hostages.
There were somber gatherings across Israel on Tuesday to mark the attacks, including in the country’s south where families and friends paid respects to the more than 370 victims killed at the Nova music festival.
Palestinians, meanwhile, reflected on two years of brutal conflict and their hopes for an end to the devastation.
Alaa Abu Daraz and her children left their home in eastern Gaza on October 7, and two years later they are yet to return, living on the streets as they seek safety.
“Our children are left in the streets, with no tent, no shelter, not even a blanket,” she told NBC News this week. “We managed through the summer and survived the heat, but the winter is unbearable; one cannot live or do anything in these conditions.”
Israel has faced mounting global isolation over its assault.
A new aid flotilla bound for Gaza that included a number of Americans was intercepted by the Israeli army Wednesday, days after the detention of activists on board a high-profile flotilla fueled international outrage.
Eight U.S. citizens were “likely abducted” by Israeli forces while on international waters, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Wednesday.
