Third day of Gaza talks begins in Egypt with Witkoff, Qatar’s PM

Cairo/Jerusalem (EFE).— The third round of indirect negotiations between Israeli representatives and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on implementing US President Donald Trump’s proposed Gaza peace plan began Wednesday in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, with growing optimism among mediators.

High-level delegations from both sides resumed talks around 11:00 a.m. local time (08:00 GMT) in the Red Sea resort, attended by senior officials from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States. The session was also joined by the heads of Egyptian and Turkish intelligence, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and a US delegation led by Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

An Egyptian security source told EFE that mediators were making “great efforts to remove any obstacle” to the ceasefire implementation and that “a spirit of optimism prevails among all.”

According to Hamas, “lists of prisoners to be released” have already been exchanged as part of the negotiations, which aim to end the two-year war, ensure Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, and secure the release of 48 hostages—alive and dead—held by the group in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

In a statement, Hamas said its delegation was showing “the necessary positivity and responsibility to achieve progress and finalize the agreement.”

A Palestinian source told EFE that the group insists on “guarantees and effective supervision” to ensure Israel’s full commitment to any potential agreement, especially regarding the cessation of military operations and the withdrawal of forces from Gaza.

On Tuesday, the second anniversary of Hamas’s attacks on Israeli soil, the group’s spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said an agreement would only be possible if Israel committed to a definitive end to the war and a full withdrawal from Palestinian territory.

Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, speaking to Al Qahera News from Sharm el-Sheikh, reiterated that the group was “ready” to end the war but required concrete assurances that Israel would “completely halt its military campaign.”

Al-Hayya, who survived an Israeli airstrike in Doha on September 9 along with members of his team, emphasized Hamas’s preparedness for both Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and a comprehensive prisoner exchange.

The first phase of Trump’s peace proposal focuses on the ongoing hostage exchange talks in Egypt. It also calls for the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and envisions the possibility of negotiating a future Palestinian state—an idea that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has firmly rejected. EFE

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