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Associated Press

Israeli and Hamas officials launched indirect talks on Monday at an Egyptian resort on a US-drafted peace plan to end the ruinous war in Gaza on the eve of its second anniversary.
The talks, which went on for several hours, unfolded amid many questions about the plan presented by US President Donald Trump last week, including the disarmament of the militant group – a key Israeli demand – and the future governance of Gaza.
Trump has indicated that an agreement on Gaza could pave the way for a Middle East peace process that could reshape the region.
Despite Trump ordering Israel to stop the bombing, Israeli forces continued to pound Gaza with air strikes, killing at least 19 people in the past 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said.

An Egyptian official with knowledge of the talks said the parties wrapped up Monday’s round of negotiations at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and the discussions were set to resume on Tuesday afternoon.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said the parties have agreed on most of the first-phase terms, which include the release of hostages and establishing a ceasefire.
The Israelis are led by top negotiator Ron Dermer, while Khalil al-Hayyah leads the Hamas delegation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk would be present for Israel.
Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News television station reported that the talks began with a meeting between Arab mediators and the Hamas delegation. Mediators were to meet later with the Israeli delegation, the station said.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were also expected to join the talks, local Egyptian media said.
Hamas said negotiations will focus on the first stage of a ceasefire, including the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces as well as the release of hostages held by the militants in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention.

This latest push for peace comes after Hamas accepted some elements of the US plan that Israel also said it supported. Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages – about 20 of whom are believed to be alive – within three days. It would give up power and disarm.
The talks in Egypt are expected to move quickly. Netanyahu said they would be “confined to a few days maximum”, though some Hamas officials have warned that more time may be needed to locate the bodies of hostages buried under rubble.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi hailed Trump’s efforts, underscoring the importance of preserving the US-crafted “peace system” in the Middle East since the 1970s, which he said “served as a strategic framework for regional stability”.
Sisi spoke in a televised address commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1973 war with Israel that led to Egypt reclaiming the Sinai Peninsula, where Sharm el-Sheikh is located.
The US has said Israel’s heavy bombardment of Gaza would need to stop for the hostages to be released. Israel says it is largely heeding Trump’s call.
The Israeli military said it is mostly carrying out defensive strikes to protect troops, though dozens of Palestinians have been killed since the military’s statement on Saturday night.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Monday that the bodies of 19 people, including two aid-seekers killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire, had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours. Another 96 were wounded.
The deaths brought the Palestinian toll to 67,160 since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, triggered the war, with nearly 170,000 wounded, the ministry said.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says more than half of the deaths were women and children.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack. Most of the largely Israeli hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals.
Meanwhile, families of Israeli hostages petitioned the Nobel Prize Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Trump for what they called his unprecedented contributions to global peace.
“At this very moment, President Trump’s comprehensive plan to release all remaining hostages and finally end this terrible war is on the table,” the families wrote. “For the first time in months, we are hopeful that our nightmare will finally be over.”
In a commemoration ceremony for Israelis killed at the Nir Oz Kibbutz on October 7, Daniel Lifshitz said the primary focus of talks should be the swift release of all remaining hostages.
“Israel will pay painful concessions by releasing mass murderers and terrorists that killed many among our friends and families here in Israel, but we cherish life and in Trump we trust to make it happen,” said Lifshitz, grandson of slain hostage Oded and released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz.
In Gaza, families of Palestinian babies born on the day the war began hoped to celebrate their second birthday with the sound of laughter and cheers instead of the cacophony of bombs and bullets.
Amal al-Taweel and her husband, Mostafa, had their son, Ali, after three years of trying for a child. They now live in a tent without proper sanitation, food, vaccinations or toys.
“I was envisioning a different life for him … He couldn’t experience what a safe family life feels like,” al-Taweel said.
The Vatican marked the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks by condemning the “inhuman massacre” of innocent people in Israel and calling for the return of hostages. But it also said Israel’s razing of Gaza is itself a disproportionate massacre and called on countries to stop supplying Israel weapons to wage the war.
“Those who are attacked have a right to defend themselves, but even legitimate defence must respect the principle of proportionality,” Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said on the eve of the anniversary.


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Israel and Hamas hold indirect talks in Egypt on eve of Gaza war anniversary

A fire erupts amid destroyed buildings, following an Israeli military strike in the northern Gaza Strip. Photo: AP

Al-Saraya Square in Gaza City. Photo: EPA

A billboard in Jerusalem bearing the portraits of hostages. Photo: AFP

A memorial for victims of the October 7 attack at the Nova Festival grounds in Reim, southern Israel. Photo: AFP

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Smoke billows over Gaza Strip following an Israeli bombardment on Sunday. Photo: AP

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. File photo: Reuters

Demonstrators during a protest in Jerusalem organised by the families of Israeli hostages. Photo: AFP

As Gaza war enters third year, former hostage recalls October 7 capture and captivity

Eli Sharabi, stands on a stage with Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross for release in February. File photo: AP

Eli Sharabi, who was held hostage by Hamas for 16 months. Photo: AP

Eli Sharabi on a stage with Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross for release in February. File photo: AP

An underground cell which, according to Israel’s military, was used by Hamas to hold hostages in the Gaza Strip. File photo: Israel Defence Forces via Reuters

Destruction at Kibbutz Be’eri, from where Eli Sharabi was captured by Hamas militants. File photo: Reuters

Alon Ohel in a recent hostage video. Photo: Hamas Media Office via AFP 

Trump’s Gaza plan: Hamas ready for peace as Israel prepares for its ‘immediate implementation’

A displaced Palestinian child waves the Palestinian national flag at the Bureij camp for refugees in the central Gaza Strip on September 22. Photo: AFP

Displaced Palestinian children search for firewood and plastic in a landfill beside the makeshift tent camp where they are taking shelter, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as he welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington last month. Photo: Reuters

Thunberg among 171 deported from Israel, as Gaza activists allege mistreatment

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, centre, before her deportation at an Israeli airport. Photo: Israel Foreign Ministry / Reuters

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, centre, and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila sit on the floor after the Israeli navy intercepted a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on Wednesday. Photo: Israeli Foreign Ministry / AFP

A screenshot from a video shows the crew of a Gaza-bound vessel with their hands up as they are intercepted by Israeli security forces on Wednesday. Photo: Global Sumud Flotilla / Reuters

Hamas response to Trump plan wins hardline support, boosts hostage release hopes

Smoke rises following an Israeli army shelling in central Gaza Strip on Saturday. Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump (right) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. Photo: dpa

Some Palestinians set off on foot with whatever belongings they could carry on Saturday in Gaza City. Photo: dpa

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) hold a joint press conference in the State Dining Room at the White House on Monday. Photo: Reuters

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Ceasefire hopes rise as parties agree on most first-phase terms, despite ongoing Gaza strikes


Ceasefire hopes rise as parties agree on most first-phase terms, despite ongoing Gaza strikes.


Israel and Hamas hold indirect talks in Egypt on eve of Gaza war anniversary

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ceasefire hopes rise as parties agree on most first-phase terms, despite ongoing Gaza strikes

Ceasefire hopes rise as parties agree on most first-phase terms, despite ongoing Gaza strikes