CAIRO (Reuters) -Talks to end the war in Gaza were taken up a notch on Wednesday with the expected arrival of senior figures from Israel, the U.S. and regional counties, after Hamas handed over its lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be freed in a swap.
With U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan now appearing closer than any previous effort to bringing an end to the fighting, delegations were upgrading their presence at the talks, launched on Monday in an Egyptian Red Sea beach resort.
Trump sent his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his close confidant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. They were expected to join the talks on Wednesday, along with the prime minister of longstanding mediator Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
HAMAS SEEKS RELEASE OF HIGH PROFILE FIGURES
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was meanwhile expected to attend parallel talks in Paris with ministers from European and Arab states, to discuss how to implement Trump’s plan.
The plan has broad international support, but crucial details have yet to be spelled out, including the timing, a post-war administration for the Gaza Strip, the fate of Hamas and the prospects for an independent Palestinian state.
Hamas, the militant group that precipitated the war by attacking Israeli territory two years ago, said it had handed over its lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged in a swap, and was optimistic about the talks so far.
The list of Palestinians Hamas wants freed is expected to include some of the most prominent prisoners ever jailed by Israel, whose release had been off limits in previous ceasefires.
According to a Palestinian source close to the talks, the list includes Marwan al-Barghouti, a leader of the Fatah movement, and Ahmed Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Both are serving multiple life sentences for attacks that killed Israelis.
Hamas says the indirect negotiations are focused so far on just three issues: halting the conflict, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza and the swap deal.
The group has so far refused to discuss one of the biggest sticking points: Israel’s demand that Hamas give up its weapons, which the Palestinian source said Hamas would reject as long as Israeli troops occupy Palestinian land.
ISRAEL DIALS DOWN ITS OFFENSIVE
Within Gaza, Israel has dialled down its military campaign at Trump’s behest, though it has not halted strikes altogether. Gaza medical authorities reported eight people killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, the lowest toll for weeks.
Daily death tolls had been around 10 times as high over the past month as Israeli forces pressed one of their biggest campaigns of the war, dynamiting neighbourhoods as they advance in an all-out assault on Gaza City.
“We hope from God that a ceasefire would take place as soon as possible, because people can’t bear the suffering anymore,” said Jehad al-Shagnobi, whose house was destroyed in the Sabra district of Gaza City. “The suffering is great, people can’t breathe anymore. We hope from God that the negotiations take place today and are successful.”
Trump expressed optimism about progress towards a deal on Tuesday, when solemn events took place across Israel to mark the second anniversary of the Hamas attack that triggered the war.
Another participant at the talks will be Turkish spymaster Ibrahim Kalin, pointing to a growing role for Turkey, a powerful NATO member which has close contacts with Hamas. President Tayyip Erdogan said Trump had asked Turkey to help persuade Hamas to accept the deal.
ARAB COUNTRIES SAY PLAN MUST LEAD TO PALESTINIAN STATE
Trump’s plan calls for an international body led by Trump himself and including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to play a role in Gaza’s post-war administration. Arab countries which back the plan say it must lead to eventual independence for a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu says will never happen.
Even if a major breakthrough is reached, there is no clear indication who will rule Gaza when the war ends. Netanyahu, Trump, Western and Arab states have ruled out a role for Hamas, which has run Gaza since driving out Palestinian rivals in 2007.
Hamas has said it was ready to relinquish Gaza governance, but only to a Palestinian technocrat government supervised by the Palestinian Authority and backed by Arab and Muslim countries, as per a longstanding Egyptian proposal. It rejects any role for Blair or foreign rule of Gaza.
Global outrage has mounted against Israel’s assault. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a U.N. inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel calls its actions self-defence after the 2023 Hamas attack.
Gaza authorities say more than 67,000 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive. It followed the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, when 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken to Gaza as hostages, according to Israel’s tallies.
(Reporting by Dawoud Abu Elkas, Tuvan Gumrukcu and Daren Butler in Ankara, Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan in Dubai and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and John Irish and Angelo Amante; Writing by Michael Georgy and Peter Graff; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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