PM’s office reports progress in talks on Gaza deal as top negotiators set to join

Negotiations in Sharm el Sheikh for a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal based on US President Donald Trump’s proposal have made progress, the Prime Minister’s Office said Tuesday, as Egypt’s top diplomat said that an American delegation led by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff will soon join the negotiations.

An official from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told The Times of Israel that there was “optimism, but very cautious,” while warning that “Hamas can add obstacles at any moment and leave.”

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a top confidant of Netanyahu who is heading the Israeli negotiating team, will depart Wednesday for the talks, the official added.

Speaking earlier at a joint press conference with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said they “had a long conversation with Steve Witkoff, who is expected in Egypt in the coming hours.”

Alongside Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser Jared Kushner is also expected to join the indirect talks that resumed Monday in the resort town of Sharm el Sheikh, with the Axios news site reporting that Trump and his top security advisers met with the pair before they departed.

Witkoff and Kushner were architects of Trump’s 20-point plan, which calls for a gradual Israeli withdrawal and the release of all remaining hostages within 72 hours of the start of a truce, among other conditions. The two briefed the group on the state of talks, which included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chief of State Susie Wiles, according to the report.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani will also head to Sharm el Sheikh on Wednesday, with Qatar’s foreign ministry saying his participation in the negotiations “comes at a critical stage of the talks, reaffirming the determination of the mediators to reach an agreement that would bring an end to the catastrophic war in the Gaza Strip.”

Separately, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that a Turkish delegation led by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will also join the talks. The agency, citing security sources, said that Kalin held talks with US, Egyptian, Qatari officials and representatives from Hamas ahead of the talks.

Trump thanks hostage families for Nobel Peace Prize nod

The latest round of negotiations came as Trump has been increasingly vocal in pushing for an end to the war and the release of the hostages, winning praise from their loved ones. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents most of the hostages’ relatives in Israel, on Monday wrote to the Norwegian Nobel Committee to recommend the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize.

On Tuesday, Trump wrote to the Forum to express his “sincerest thanks” for the move.

Since the October 7 onslaught, Trump said, he has “been resolved to returning all the hostages home, and ensuring the total destruction of Hamas so these horrific acts may never be repeated.”

????????????????️סקופ: הנשיא טראמפ שיגר היום מכתב לפורום משפחות החטופים ובו הדגיש כי הוא ״נחוש״ להחזיר את החטופים ולסיים את המלחמה בעזה בימים הקרובים pic.twitter.com/rfRwtxx0yK

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 7, 2025

“These unspeakable scenes have been seared into our memories, and we will never forget,” he added. “Please know that we remain steadfastly committed to seeing an end both to this conflict and the waves of antisemitism, both at home and abroad.”

Trump later told reporters at the White House that “we’re in very serious negotiations” to end the Gaza war and bring broader peace to the Middle East.

“I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East, something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately, et cetera,” he said in an Oval Office press conference alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“So our team is over there now. Another team just left, and literally every other country in the world has supported the plan,” he continued.

“There’s a real chance that we could do something,” Trump added, before later declaring, “We are very close to making a deal on the Middle East that will bring peace to the Middle East.”

Trump vowed that if a deal is ultimately reached, “we’re going to do everything possible to make sure everybody adheres” to it, as he was asked what guarantees he would give to Arab allies that Israel will not be able to resume the war in Gaza once the hostages are released.

While stressing that the agreement has not been inked yet and that negotiations were ongoing, Trump said if the talks do result in a deal, the US has “a lot of power” that it can leverage to ensure it will be upheld.

The issue of US guarantees has been essential in the negotiations, given that Hamas is seeking as firm an assurance as possible from Trump that he will not allow Israel to resume the war once the hostages are released, given that the terror group now appears willing to give up all of its leverage up front by releasing the remaining captives at once.

Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have been pushing for assurances from the premier that Jerusalem will, in fact, be able to resume the war unless Hamas agrees to fully demilitarize once the hostages are released. The terror group has thus far indicated that it is not willing to do so.

Indirect talks resume on Tuesday

After several hours of talks Monday, an Egyptian official with knowledge of the discussions said the parties agreed on most of the first-phase terms, which include a truce, the release of the hostages, and an initial Israeli withdrawal.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meetings, said the talks resumed Tuesday afternoon.

Hamas leader in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, who is leading the terror group’s negotiating team, confirmed Tuesday in a rare interview from Sharm el Sheikh that Hamas is demanding “real guarantees” to end the war, citing past experience with Israel during two previous ceasefires.

He added that Hamas came to Egypt with the direct goal of ending the war, securing an Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, and carrying out a “prisoner exchange — the release of all Israeli hostages, both living and dead, and the Palestinian prisoners that were discussed, according to the Trump plan.”

Earlier, the foreign ministry spokesman for mediator Qatar said Tuesday that “if Hamas hands over the hostages, that would mean the end of the war.”

In comments to reporters in Doha, Majed al-Ansari was also cautious on the Egypt peace talks.

“I have no doubt that this round of negotiations is a process in which all parties are strongly committed to reaching a consensus, but there are many details to consider,” he said, adding that the plan’s clauses “require practical interpretation on the ground, which of course requires communication with all parties.”

He said it was still “early” to discuss the future of Hamas’s political bureau in Doha, after Israel’s botched strike on the group’s leadership in the Qatari capital last month.

The Hamas bureau has helped Doha mediate in the conflict, Ansari said, adding: “As long as there is a need for a channel [of communication with Hamas], there is a need for this.”

Ansari also said Israel should have ceased operations in Gaza after Netanyahu accepted the deal, which the premier did in a joint press conference with Trump at the White House last Monday.

“We await the outcomes of the negotiations in the coming days regarding the ceasefire. This question should be directed first to the Israeli occupation government. It was supposed to actually cease fire if the statements made by the prime minister there regarding adherence to the Trump plan were true,” said Ansari.

Netanyahu has endorsed the deal, though it has not been ratified in either the cabinet or the Knesset, while Hamas delivered a conditional acceptance. The IDF was ordered to halt offensive operations in Gaza after Trump, on Saturday, accepted Hamas’s response to his offer and called on Israel to stop bombing the Strip.

Nonetheless, deadly Israeli strikes have continued, according to medical sources there, who reported at least 10 Palestinians killed by the IDF since dawn on Tuesday. The IDF has said it is carrying out strikes to guarantee the security of troops holding their line in Gaza.

Hamas celebrates anniversary of ‘glorious’ Oct. 7 massacre

In a video statement to mark two years since the October 7 atrocities, Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said the Palestinian terrorist group’s delegation to Egypt was “seeking to remove all obstacles to achieving an agreement that meets the aspirations of our people,” according to a translation of his comments by news site Egypt Today.

“We seek a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, and the guarantee of the return of the displaced,” he said.

The group is working to overcome “all obstacles” in ongoing indirect talks with Israel aimed at ending the two-year Gaza war, Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum says.#Hamas #Gaza #Ceasefire pic.twitter.com/znQ4y2ecMJ

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) October 7, 2025

“We have dealt with all ceasefire proposals over the past two years with great responsibility, the most recent being President Trump’s proposal,” he added, accusing Netanyahu of having thwarted previous deals.

Barhoum also hailed the October 7 attack, saying it “restored our Palestinian cause to its global standing, and exposed the fascist occupation as a threat to the security of the region.” Hamas denounces Israel’s existence as an “occupation” and avowedly seeks the Jewish state’s destruction.

In a separate statement marking the October 7 anniversary, Hamas called the onslaught a “glorious day of success” for Palestinians and a “meaningful turning point” for the region.

“Two years on, and the enemy is still continuing its barbaric war against the steadfast Palestinian people, and continues its massacres against innocent civilians, while the world is silent and the Arab countries abandon them in an unprecedented way,” said the Islamist terror organization.

The statement also memorialized top Hamas leaders killed by Israel since the October 7 massacre, including Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Saleh al-Arouri and Muhammad Deif.

Thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, 47 of whom remain in Gaza. Hamas is also holding the remains of a soldier killed fighting in Gaza in 2014. At least 26 of the 48 hostages have been confirmed dead by the IDF.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 67,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and accuses Hamas of using Gaza’s civilians as human shields.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.