High-ranking officials from the U.S., Qatar, and Turkey are expected to join indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday in Egypt, as international pressure mounts to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Jared Kushner © Mena Today
High-ranking officials from the U.S., Qatar, and Turkey are expected to join indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday in Egypt, as international pressure mounts to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani is scheduled to arrive in Sharm el-Sheikh, where the talks have been underway since Monday, according to the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
Turkey is also sending a delegation led by intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, reflecting Ankara's close ties with Hamas.
From the U.S. side, Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former President Donald Trump, and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, will attend the discussions, according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
Their arrival, initially expected over the weekend, comes as Trump claims there is now a “real chance” for a deal.
The ongoing negotiations revolve around a U.S.-backed proposal that includes a ceasefire, the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, phased Israeli military withdrawal, and the disarmament of Hamas.
While Hamas has given a preliminary green light to the Trump plan, key issues remain unresolved. On Tuesday, Hamas’s lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, speaking from Egypt, demanded guarantees from Trump and other mediators that the war will "end once and for all". “We do not trust Israel,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marking the second anniversary of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, reiterated Israel's objectives: the release of all hostages and the elimination of Hamas's military capacity.
He has expressed conditional support for the plan but insists Israeli forces must remain in most parts of Gaza.
Hamas said on Wednesday it had exchanged a list of the names of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released under a swap deal and that it was optimistic about talks in Egypt on U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.
Two years after the Gaza conflict erupted, President Donald Trump on Tuesday pledged U.S. support for Gaza security guarantees and said he believes a deal is close to being completed for the remaining hostages.
Tuesday marked the two-year anniversary of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas' attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
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