Israel and Hamas commence mediated discussions in the Egyptian city on the US Gaza peace plan.
News Agency
Third-party negotiations focused on achieving a final agreement on a US peace plan to end the war in Gaza have begun in the Egyptian city of the negotiation site.
Local and international officials have reported that the discussions are centered around "establishing the groundwork" for a anticipated transfer that would result in the freeing of all Israeli hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas has said it agrees to the negotiation framework partially, but has failed to address several key demands - such as its disarmament and future role in Gaza.
Israel's prime minister said on recently that he anticipated declaring the freeing of hostages "in the coming days"
Conflict Timeline
The negotiations, which will see regional and international officials holding shuttle meetings with delegations from both Israel and Hamas separately, come on the approach of the two-year mark of the military operation on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were captured.
The armed forces initiated operations in Gaza in retaliation. From that point, over 67,000 have been killed by armed interventions in Gaza, based on data from the territory's medical administration.
Initiative Components
The comprehensive proposal, which has been agreed upon by the Trump administration and Israeli officials, outlines an quick halt to fighting and the release of 48 hostages, only 20 individuals are considered living, in exchange for hundreds of incarcerated individuals.
The framework requires that once both sides accept the plan "humanitarian support will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip"
It also declares that the organization would have no role in administering the territory, and it leaves the door open an independent Palestinian nation.
Recent Developments
On Friday, officials replied to the proposal in a statement, in which the group approved "to liberate all detainees, both alive and killed, following the exchange formula specified by President Trump's proposal" - if the proper conditions for the transfers are met.
It omitted reference to or approve the detailed initiative but said it "renews its agreement to transfer the management of the conflict zone to a governing council of professionals, based on local agreement and international backing"
The announcement made no mention of one of the essential conditions of the plan – that the militant group accept its weapons surrender and to having no future involvement in the governance of Gaza.
International Response
Gaza inhabitants characterized the group's reaction to the peace plan as unexpected, after days of indications that the organization was preparing to reject or at least significantly qualify its acceptance of the US framework.
Instead, Hamas excluded its customary boundaries in the formal declaration, a action many view as a evidence of international influence.
European and Middle Eastern representatives have endorsed the initiative. The local administration, which controls sections of the disputed regions, has described the American initiatives as "sincere and determined"
Iran - which has been one of the group's primary supporters for decades - has also now signalled its endorsement of Trump's Gaza peace plan.
Ongoing Reality
Armed attacks carried on in several parts of the Gaza Strip on recently before the negotiations starting.
Israeli forces is implementing an combat campaign in the urban area, which it has said is aimed at securing the freeing of the outstanding captives.
An official representative, spokesman for Gaza's civil protection agency, indicated that "assistance vehicles have been authorized access for the metropolitan area since the military operations started recently"
"There are still bodies we are unable to recover from areas under Israeli control" he commented.
Countless residents of the urban center have been compelled to evacuate after the defense forces ordered evacuations to a specified safe zone in the south, but additional numerous individuals are considered to have persisted.
Israel's defence minister has warned that those who persist during the military operation would be "combatants and their sympathizers"
In the last 24 hours, 21 individuals have been lost their lives in Gaza and a additional 96 injured, the Hamas-run health ministry said in its most recent report.
Global media representatives have been prohibited by Israel from visiting the Palestinian territory autonomously since the beginning of the hostilities, making authenticating statements from all parties problematic.