WASHINGTON: Israel and Hamas prepared for indirect negotiations in Egypt on Monday, as hopes for a possible ceasefire in Gaza grew after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a hostage release could be announced this week.
According to AP, US President Donald Trump said Sunday that ongoing negotiations with Hamas over his Gaza ceasefire proposal have been ‘proceeding rapidly’ ahead of the critical meeting in Egypt.
“There have been very positive discussions with Hamas, and Countries from all over the World (Arab, Muslim, and everyone else) this weekend, to release the Hostages, end the War in Gaza but, more importantly, finally have long sought peace in the Middle East,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“These talks have been very successful and proceeding rapidly. The technical teams will again meet Monday, in Egypt, to work through and clarify the final details. I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to move fast,” he added.
The US president said he would continue to monitor the situation, emphasizing that “time is of the essence or, massive bloodshed will follow.”
Earlier Sunday, Hamas announced that a delegation from its leadership headed by Khalil al-Hayya, the Palestinian group’s exiled Gaza chief, arrived in Egypt “to begin talks on mechanisms for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a prisoner exchange.”
It did not specify the duration of the visit or the details of the agenda. Still, the new round of talks comes amid intensifying regional and international efforts to end the nearly two-year-long Israeli war on Gaza, Anadolu reports.
Israel said earlier that a negotiating team will depart for Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday for indirect prisoner exchange talks with Hamas under Trump’s Gaza plan.
On Sept. 29, Trump unveiled a 20-point plan that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas, and the rebuilding of Gaza.
Hamas has agreed to the plan in principle, and talks for the next steps are due in Egypt.
The Israeli military has killed over 67,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and has led to mass displacement, starvation, and the proliferation of disease.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that logistical issues are being discussed after Hamas agreed to the framework of President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and prisoners, Anadolu reports.
In a TV interview, Rubio said it was clear from a statement released by the Palestinian group on Friday that they “have agreed to the president’s hostage release framework.”
“What needs to happen now — and they acknowledge in the letter and their response — is there now needs to be meetings, which are occurring … and hopefully will be finalized very quickly, on the logistics of that,” Rubio said on broadcaster NBC News.
These discussions will focus on who will receive the hostages from Hamas and when and where they will be release, he said, adding that for this to happen, Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip must halt.
“You can’t have bombs going off and fighting going on in the middle of this exchange,” said the top US diplomat.
Asked about Tel Aviv’s phased withdrawal from the Gaza Strip under the plan, Rubio said Israeli troops would fall back to where they “stood inside of Gaza in the middle of August … they’ve agreed to that piece.”
“I think ultimately, everyone has agreed, including Israel, that eventually, at some point here, as this process plays out, Gaza will be governed by a Palestinian technocratic group that’s not Hamas,” he said, adding that this administration would have “the assistance and the guidance of an international consortium.”
In a separate interview with Fox News, Rubio said work would begin on Gaza’s future governance and reconstruction after the hostages are released. “That’s where the international partners are going to be so critical, not just with personnel, but with money and resources to create a governance structure.”
“A lot of damage been done there (Gaza). That whole place has to be rebuilt. That’s not going to happen in 72 hours or six weeks. That’s going to take some time,” he added.
Rubio also pointed to the international support and contributions to the proposal, saying: “You have the United Arab Emirates, you have Qatar, you have Saudi Arabia, you have Türkiye, you have Egypt, you have Jordan, you have Indonesia, you have all these countries, the European countries, all lined up behind a plan.”
