Hamas reports 'optimism' in Gaza truce talks with Israel
Hamas announced on Wednesday that optimism prevails in the ongoing indirect negotiations with Israel aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
"The mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails among all parties," senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said from Sharm El-Sheikh, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
The talks aim to thrash out a plan to implement a 20-point peace proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump last month, and which both Israel and Hamas have responded positively to.
The plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages, Hamas's disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
On Wednesday, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Türkiye's intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Trump's special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner were all due in Sharm El-Sheikh.
The Palestinian militant group submitted a list of prisoners it wants to be released in the first phase of the truce "in accordance with the agreed-upon criteria and numbers", Nunu added.
In exchange, Hamas is set to release 47 hostages, both alive and dead, who were seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
"There's a real chance that we could do something," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
"I think there's a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It's something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately."
Trump said the United States would do "everything possible to make sure everyone adheres to the deal" if Hamas and Israel did agree on a ceasefire.
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