Day one of Gaza peace talks ends on ‘positive’ note in Egypt

Multiple sources told Al Jazeera and other media outlets that the first day of resumed indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Egypt came to a positive conclusion in anticipation of a potential agreement implementing US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Gaza war.

On Tuesday, the negotiators are scheduled to return for additional discussions.

A roadmap was created for how the current round of talks would proceed, according to sources who spoke to Al Jazeera Arabic about the meeting held on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort city in the Red Sea.

According to Al Jazeera Arabic, the Hamas delegation informed mediators that negotiations over the release of prisoners are hampered by Israel’s continued bombing of Gaza.

Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, two negotiators who survived a five-person Israeli assassination attempt in central Doha last month, were among the Hamas delegation’s members.

According to Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News, talks on day one covered the proposed exchange of prisoners and captives, a ceasefire, and humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

In an effort to create “momentum,” according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump also pushed for the immediate exchange of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli captives in an effort to implement other aspects of his plan to end the Gaza war.

Leavitt stated that the technical teams were “going over the list of both the Israeli hostages and the political prisoners who will be released” and that they were “looking over the situation to ensure that the environment is ideal for release those hostages as we speak.”

Trump stated to reporters from the Oval Office on Monday afternoon, “We have a really good chance of making a deal,” while also mentioning that he still has his own “red lines.”

“But I believe our situation is excellent,” she continued. And I believe Hamas has been expressing its disagreements with crucial issues,” Trump continued.

Trump has not “not given any details how he thinks the discussions are going beyond his general positive assessment,” according to Rosiland Jordan, who reports from Washington, D.C.

The US President also praised Israel’s leadership in these negotiations, his own special envoy Steve Witkoff, and his country’s support for Hamas, according to Jordan.

Jared Kushner, the son of Donald Trump’s real estate developer, is reportedly a member of the US delegation.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Al-Qahera News and &nbsp confirmed that the talks were scheduled to continue on Tuesday, two years after the Hamas attack on Israel that claimed the lives of 1, 139 people and held about 200 people hostage.

In a conflict that has been characterized as genocidal by a UN inquiry, leading genocide scholars, and leading human rights organizations, including Israeli non-profits, Israeli forces have since killed at least 67 Palestinians, 160 Palestinians, and injured 169, 679 in Gaza.

According to Al Jazeera sources, Israeli forces killed at least 10 Palestinians in attacks across Gaza on Monday, including three who were requesting humanitarian aid.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas’ “abhorrent large-scale terror attack on Israel” was acknowledged in a social media post by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres late on Monday, New York time.

Guterres added that Trump’s “recent proposal” “presents an opportunity that must be seized to put an end to this tragic conflict.”

The UN chief wrote that “a permanent ceasefire and a credible political process are necessary to stop further bloodshed and open the door to peace.”