Indirect talks open in Sharm El-Sheikh under Trump plan as Gaza war grinds on
Delegations representing Hamas and Israel have begun indirect negotiations in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm El‑Sheikh aimed at ending nearly two years of war in Gaza, diplomats and officials said Monday, in a U.S.‑backed effort that has raised hopes and doubts in equal measure.
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Under the outline promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump — who has waded into the role of broker with envoys including businessman Steve Witkoff and his son‑in‑law Jared Kushner expected in town — negotiators are meeting behind closed doors and speaking through mediators from Egypt and Qatar. Security is tight and discussions are being described as likely to stretch for several days.
Scenes in the resort — and the reality on the ground
Sharm El‑Sheikh’s tourist avenues, normally full of sun‑seekers, are a world away from the devastation in Gaza. But that contrast — resort calm a short flight from one of the globe’s most acute humanitarian crises — underscores the urgency of talks that began on the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas’s 7 October 2023 assault that dragged the region into relentless conflict.
“We expect the negotiations to be difficult and complex, given the occupation’s intentions to continue its war of extermination,” a Palestinian source close to Hamas’s leadership told reporters, expressing the distrust that has shadowed every previous round of diplomacy.
Even as mediators shuttled between sides, Israeli air strikes continued over Gaza. Local civil defense officials said at least seven Palestinians were killed in the latest bombardment, and AFP footage showed plumes of smoke over Gaza City — a reminder that ceasefire hopes coexist with ongoing violence.
What’s on the table
At the core of the Trump roadmap is a phased hostage‑for‑prisoner swap intended to secure the release of civilians taken during the October 2023 attack — 251 people were seized that day, with Israel saying 25 of the 47 remaining in Gaza are dead. The first phase envisages 47 hostages delivered in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
The plan proposes deeper and more contentious steps: the disarmament of Hamas, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from parts of Gaza and the imposition of a technocratic administration for the territory overseen by a transitional body that, unusually, the blueprint places under Trump’s political auspices. Hamas and Israel have both given guardedly positive responses to the proposal, but acceptance of the most sensitive provisions is far from certain.
Hamas has insisted it should have a role in Gaza’s future governance; the Trump plan expressly seeks to exclude the group and other factions from formal authority. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded guarantees for the release of hostages and has repeatedly vowed to hold forces “deep inside” Gaza until those security demands are met.
Practical hurdles and humanitarian stakes
Negotiators face immediate, granular sticking points: which Palestinian prisoners should be included in a swap, exactly what security arrangements would look like on the ground, the sequencing of withdrawals and the cessation of aerial bombardment — and who will verify compliance.
“The initial hostage‑prisoner exchange will require several days, depending on field conditions related to Israeli withdrawals, the cessation of bombardment and the suspension of all types of air operations,” the Palestinian source said.
International humanitarian organisations say time is short. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said teams stand ready “to help bring hostages and detainees back to their families” and to facilitate aid access across Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of famine conditions. The ICRC has urged that humanitarian corridors be reopened “at full capacity” and that distributions be safe and impartial.
What failure would mean — and who is mediating
On the Israeli side, military officials have issued blunt reminders that diplomacy exists alongside the capacity for renewed force. Lieutenant‑General Eyal Zamir warned negotiators that if diplomacy falters, “the military would return to fighting” in Gaza.
Egypt and Qatar, both long‑standing interlocutors with Hamas, are serving as the main mediators. Egyptian state‑linked media said teams were discussing “preparing ground conditions for the release of detainees and prisoners.” That regional axis — rather than the United Nations or a purely Western coalition — again highlights the centrality of Arab states in resolving Middle Eastern crises.
Why this round matters — and why it may not be decisive
The talks are taking place against two years of accumulated fury and trauma: Israeli officials say the October 2023 attacks cost 1,219 lives in Israel, most of them civilians. Palestinian health authorities in Gaza, a territory devastated by sustained bombardment and ground operations, report at least 67,160 dead — a toll the United Nations says is reliable. Those numbers are not just statistics; they shape public sentiment, political leverage and the room for compromise.
There is also a wider trend at play: the rise of informal, personality‑driven diplomacy. A former U.S. president positioning himself as an external arbiter, proposing to head a transitional authority, underscores how statecraft is increasingly mingled with private influence and performative diplomacy. Will such a model yield durable arrangements, or will it complicate enforcement and legitimacy?
As mediators try to bridge maximal demands on both sides, the deeper questions remain: Can an agreement that seeks to disarm a militant movement while removing its political role hold when the movement’s supporters demand representation? Can humanitarian relief be scaled up fast enough to convince civilians that peace — even a temporary ceasefire — is safer than continuing to bear the costs of war?
For now, families in Gaza and in Israel are watching closely. Some cling to the slender hope that a truce and prisoner exchanges will offer respite. Others fear that if talks collapse, the next round of fighting will be worse.
Even as diplomats haggle in the Egyptian resort, the Middle East’s fragile peace — and the human lives it hinges upon — remain in the balance.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
