Israeli and Hamas delegations started indirect negotiations on ending the almost two-year conflict in Gaza on Monday in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, according to Egyptian state-affiliated media.
In keeping with US President Donald Trump’s request to end hostilities, state intelligence-affiliated Al Qahera News reported that the delegations “are discussing preparing ground conditions for the release of detainees and prisoners.”
In order to create a system for exchanging hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons, mediators from Egypt and Qatar are collaborating with both parties, they said. Negotiators will converse via mediators who are constantly moving back and forth behind closed doors and under strict security.
Before the negotiations, an Egyptian security source said the Hamas group met with Egyptian intelligence personnel under the leadership of chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who survived the Doha attack.
A Palestinian source close to Hamas’s leadership stated that the current round of negotiations “may last for several days” and was initiated on the eve of the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that precipitated the conflict.
Israeli bombings in Gaza continued Monday, and Trump has urged negotiations to “move fast” to resolve the conflict. His son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff are scheduled to arrive in Egypt.
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