CAIRO: Top US negotiators joined discussions while Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, too, were expected on Wednesday at the Gaza talks aimed at bringing the Israeli war to an end, with the negotiations’ Egyptian host saying he had received “encouraging” signs so far.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hailed the support of US President Donald Trump, whose 20-point peace proposal forms the basis of the talks, while Hamas, too, expressed “optimism” over the indirect discussions with its foe Israel.
Both warring sides have responded positively to Trump’s plan, which calls for a ceasefire, the release of all Israeli prisoners held in Gaza, Hamas’ disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Egyptian state-linked media aired footage of Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner pulling up to the talks in Sharm El-Sheikh on Wednesday.
Hamas hands over lists of Israeli and
Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged in a
swap; Israel seizes three more Gaza-bound
aid boats
Sisi said the word he had received since their arrival in the city the night before was “very encouraging”, adding the US envoys came “with a strong will, a strong message, and a strong mandate from President Trump to end the war in this round of negotiations”.
Sisi also invited Trump himself to travel to Egypt for a signing ceremony if a deal were reached.
At the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump told reporters “there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East” if Hamas and Israel did agree on a ceasefire. Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said, “Mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails.”
Lists of prisoners
Hamas submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners it wants released from Israeli jails in the first phase of the truce in accordance with the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, Nunu added.
In exchange, Hamas is set to free 47 Israeli prisoners, both alive and dead.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,183 people, half of them women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.
Hamas handed over lists on Wednesday of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged in a swap.
Indirect negotiations are focused on the mechanisms to halt the conflict, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the swap deal, the Palestinian group said.
One of the big sticking points will be pressure on Hamas to disarm, an issue it has been unwilling to discuss at the talks.
Israel seizes more aid boats
The organisers of a new Gaza-bound aid flotilla said the Israeli army seized at least three of its boats on Wednesday.
“Three vessels — Gaza Sunbirds, Alaa Al-Najjar, and Anas Al-Sharif — have been attacked and illegally intercepted by the Israeli military” early morning, 220 kilometres (around 140 miles) off the coast of Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla said on X.
It said another ship, the Conscience, carrying more than 90 journalists, doctors and activists, was also “under attack”.
The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed it had intercepted boats attempting to reach Gaza.
“Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing. The vessels and the passengers are transferred to an Israeli port,” it said on social media.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said the boats were carrying “vital aid worth over $110,000 USD in medicines, respiratory equipment, and nutritional supplies that were destined for Gaza’s starving hospitals”.
Israel has blocked several international aid flotillas in recent months from reaching the war-torn Palestinian territory, where the UN says famine has set in.
Israeli naval forces stopped last week another Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels, carrying politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
