On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas entered the third day of peace negotiations at an Egyptian resort. The presence of senior figures from the United States, Israel, and mediating countries highlights the aim of addressing the most challenging aspects of an American proposal to resolve the Gaza conflict.

Hamas seeks strong assurances from U.S. President Donald Trump and others mediating that Israel will not restart military actions in Palestinian areas once all the hostages are released by the group.

There is cautious optimism among the parties for reaching an agreement to end the two-year conflict that led to tens of thousands of Palestinian casualties and widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip. Still, vital elements of the peace proposal remain unresolved, such as the disarmament of Hamas, the schedule and scope of Israeli troop withdrawal, and establishing an international authority to govern Gaza once Hamas relinquishes power.

The prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, planned to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to participate in the discussions.

The same day, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, along with the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, was anticipated to attend, according to a U.S. official speaking anonymously as the trip had not been officially confirmed.

Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was also expected to join, as per an Israeli official who conveyed the information anonymously due to lack of authorization to communicate with the press.

As Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. mediators met with both sides in preliminary talks on Wednesday morning, a senior Hamas official, Taher Nounou, said the group has exchanged a list of Palestinian prisoners it seeks to release in return for Israeli hostages under the deal’s terms.

Trump’s peace plan

The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and release of the 48 hostages that militants in Gaza still hold from their Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack on Israel that started the war and triggered Israel’s devastating retaliation. Around 20 of the hostages are believed to still be alive.

It envisages Israel withdrawing its troops from Gaza after Hamas disarms, and an international security force being put in place. The territory would be placed under international governance, with Trump and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair overseeing it.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said Wednesday in televised comments that the negotiations so far “were very encouraging.”

Netanyahu has accepted Trump’s plan. His office said Tuesday that Israel was “cautiously optimistic,” framing the talks as technical negotiations over a plan that both sides already had approved.

In a statement Tuesday, Hamas reiterated its longstanding demands for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza but said nothing about disarmament, a step it has long resisted. Hamas has also spoken against the idea of international rule, though it has agreed it will have no role in governing post-war Gaza.

Speaking in Sharm el-Sheikh, Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ top negotiator, told Egypt’s Qahera TV that the group wanted solid guarantees from Trump and mediators that the war “will not return.” It appeared to be his first public appearance since an Israeli strike targeting him and other top Hamas leaders in Qatar last month killed six people, including his son and office manager.

In January, the two sides had a ceasefire that brought the release of some Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Under the agreement – which Trump and Witkoff played a major role in brokering – the two sides were then supposed to enter negotiations over a long-term truce, an Israeli withdrawal and a full hostage release.

But Israel broke the ceasefire in March, resuming its campaign of bombardment and offensives, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas for the remaining hostage releases.

Past rounds of negotiations have frequently fallen apart over the same obstacle, with Hamas demanding assurances of the war’s end and Netanyahu vowing to keep fighting until the group is destroyed. The Trump plan attempts to resolve all the issues at once, by laying out Hamas disarmament and a post-war scenario for governing the territory with provisions for a massive reconstruction campaign.

Praying for a deal

In the Hamas-led attack two years ago, militants stormed into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. Most hostages have since been released in ceasefires or other deals.

A growing number of experts, including those commissioned by a U.N. body, have said Israel’s offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide – an accusation Israel denies. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of the deaths were women and children, is part of the Hamas-run government. The United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

In the Gaza Strip, where much of the territory lies in ruins, Palestinians are desperate for a breakthrough. Thousands fleeing Israel’s latest ground offensive in northern Gaza and Gaza City have set up makeshift tents along the beach in the central part of the territory, sometimes using blankets for shelter.

“There is no food, nor good water, and blockage of crossings,” said Um Sulaiman Abu Afash, a displaced woman from Gaza City. “Our kids sleep in the streets. We buy drinking water. Where do we go? There’s no mercy.”

Sara Rihan, a displaced woman from Jabaliya, said she was praying for an end to the war. “I hope we return to our places and homes even if there are no homes,” she said. “Our existence in our land is the biggest happiness for us.”