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10-10-2025
CAIRO: Top US envoys and prominent regional figures have joined the third day of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Egypt on President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.
Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are in Sharm el-Sheikh along with Qatar’s prime minister and Turkey’s intelligence chief for what is expected to be a key day indicating whether progress can be made.
As the negotiations resumed, a senior Hamas official told media it had shown “the necessary positivity” and submitted a list of the Palestinian prisoners it wanted Israel to release in exchange for the hostages being held in Gaza.
Israeli media cited officials as saying there was “cautious optimism”.
Trump also struck a positive tone, saying; “there’s a real chance that we could do something.”
Witkoff and Kushner, who served as Trump’s Middle East adviser during his first term, flew into the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh early on Wednesday for the talks, which resumed at 11:00 (08:00 GMT).
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and the head of Turkish intelligence, Ibrahim Kalin, also joined them.
Sheikh Mohammed’s attendance was aimed at “pushing forward the Gaza ceasefire plan and hostage release agreement”, an official told media.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile said that Trump had asked him during a recent phone call to “persuade” Hamas to accept his plan.
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is also due to arrive on Wednesday afternoon.
A senior Hamas official told media on Wednesday morning that its delegation had submitted a list of the Palestinian prisoners it wanted Israel to release in exchange for the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, up to 20 of whom are still alive.
The list included several of the most prominent Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat.
Barghouti, who is seen as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is serving five life sentences plus 40 years after being convicted in 2004 of planning attacks that led to five civilians being killed.
Saadat, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was sentenced to 30 years after being convicted in 2008 of heading an “illegal terrorist organisation” and involvement in attacks, including the assassination of an Israeli minister in 2001.
The Hamas official who spoke to media said the group had “shown the necessary positivity and responsibility to achieve the required progress and complete the agreement” but acknowledged that differences remained between the two sides.
“Mediators are making major efforts to remove any obstacles to implementing a ceasefire,” he added, noting that “a spirit of optimism is spreading among all participants.”
However, a Palestinian official familiar with talks told media that there were “deep gaps” over how Hamas and Israel interpreted Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
The official said disagreements had emerged over nearly all the five key issues currently being discussed;
A permanent ceasefire
The exchange of the hostages still held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza
The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza
Arrangements for humanitarian aid deliveries, and
Post-war governance of the territory. (Int’l News Desk)
