SHARM EL SHEIKH: Hamas handed over lists on Wednesday of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged in a swap, and said it was optimistic about negotiations to end the war in Gaza, while US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and envoy were due to join the talks.
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 added, in a seemingly upbeat assessment of the talks over a plan put forward by Trump, the closest diplomats have come to silencing the guns.
One of the big sticking points will be pressure on Hamas to disarm, an issue it has been unwilling to discuss at the talks which began on Monday in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el Sheikh, a Palestinian source close to the negotiations said.
The timing of the implementation of the first phase of Trump's 20-point initiative has not yet been agreed, the source said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to attend a ministerial meeting on Thursday in Paris with European, Arab and other states to discuss Gaza's post-war transition, three diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.
The meeting, which will be held in parallel with the negotiations in Egypt, is intended to discuss how to implement Trump's plan and assess countries' collective commitments.
Many Gazans have been displaced repeatedly as they face hunger and shortages of fuel, water and medical supplies.
"Winter is coming ... the water is going through (my tent), the rats are coming after us, the mosquitoes and flies," said displaced Gazan Raed Shahine.
Trump expressed optimism about progress toward a deal on Tuesday, the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Israeli military assault on Gaza.
He is sending a team that includes his special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law who served as Middle East envoy during the president's first term.
But officials on all sides have so far urged caution over the prospects for a rapid agreement.
Other senior figures were also expected to join the talks on Wednesday, including Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's close confidant - and Qatari Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani, a longstanding mediator.
Another participant will be Turkish spymaster Ibrahim Kalin, pointing to a growing role for Turkey, a powerful Nato member which has close contacts with Hamas but which Israel has not previously viewed as a mediator. — Reuters
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