Israeli and Hamas officials gathered in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday to launch talks on U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to halt the Gaza war and secure a hostage deal, even as divisive issues such as Hamas disarmament loomed over the agenda.
The talks begin on the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages taken — the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. Israel’s response has left more than 67,000 Palestinians dead and driven most of Gaza’s 2.2 million people from their homes.
Two Israeli sources said negotiators had arrived for discussions centered on releasing hostages as part of Trump’s 20-point blueprint to end the conflict. Hamas envoys reached the venue earlier in the day.
“If there is a deal, then we survive. If there isn’t, it is like we have been sentenced to death,” said Gharam Mohammad, 20, displaced with her family in central Gaza.
An official briefed on the process said this round was expected to last at least several days, with little chance of a rapid agreement. The goal, he said, is a comprehensive package with details finalized before any ceasefire takes effect.
A Palestinian official close to the talks voiced skepticism given deep distrust, saying Hamas and other factions fear Israel — led by its most hardline government — could abandon negotiations once hostages are recovered.
Israel’s team includes officers from Mossad and Shin Bet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk, and hostages coordinator Gal Hirsch. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Israel’s chief negotiator, is expected to join later this week depending on progress, three Israeli officials said.
Hamas’ delegation is led by exiled Gaza leader Khalil Al-Hayya, making his first visit to Egypt since surviving an Israeli strike in Doha that killed his son. Hamas said its negotiators want clarity on exchanging remaining hostages — alive and dead — for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, as well as on Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a ceasefire.
A major sticking point is Israel’s demand — echoed in Trump’s plan — that Hamas disarm, a Hamas source told Reuters. The group says it will not disarm absent an end to Israeli occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu says a Palestinian state will not be established. Britain, France and several other Western countries recognized Palestinian statehood last month.
Over the weekend Israel intercepted an aid flotilla bound for Gaza and on Monday deported detained activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Hamas and Israel have endorsed the plan’s fundamentals but not its core details. Trump, buoyed by backing from Arab and Western states, said on social media he was told the “first phase should be completed this week,” urging all sides to “MOVE FAST.”
Israel has eased strikes over the past 24 hours, Gaza’s health ministry said, with a dip in the daily toll ahead of the talks. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called this round more promising than previous efforts, saying it aimed not only at a ceasefire but at a “viable political solution.”
Trump, who brokered normalization deals between Israel and several Arab states in 2020, says the Gaza plan could usher in broader regional peace.
Phase one focuses on freeing hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, 20 believed alive. On Friday, Hamas approved a hostage release and several other elements but avoided commitments on disarmament and ceding power in Gaza, which it has controlled since 2007.
At home, Netanyahu faces dueling pressures: families of hostages and a war-weary public calling for an end to the fighting, and far-right coalition partners demanding Hamas’ destruction. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned on X that stopping the campaign would be a “grave mistake,” while he and Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have threatened to topple the government if the war ends.