Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that negotiations to stop the war in Gaza had made "a lot of headway" and that a ceasefire would be declared if they reached a positive outcome.
Fidan said the talks in Egypt, in which Ankara is taking part, are focused on securing a ceasefire, exchanging captives and prisoners, allowing more aid and coordinating a timetable for a withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, top US negotiators joined discussions on Wednesday aimed at bringing the Gaza 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 the captives, Hamas's 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.
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 from Sharm El Sheikh that "mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails".
The group 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 captives, both alive and dead, who were seized in its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war.
Qatari Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin are also expected at the talks, while Hamas said it would be joined by delegations from Islamic Jihad as well as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,183 people, according to the health ministry in the territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.
The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that over half of the dead are women and children. SEE ALSO P6
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