Hamas officials have reiterated demands for firm guarantees that Israel will fully end its military campaign in Gaza and withdraw from the territory, as a second day of indirect ceasefire negotiations concluded in Egypt with limited progress.
The talks, part of a US-backed initiative led by former President Donald Trump, centre around a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending nearly two years of devastating conflict.
However, major sticking points remain — particularly Hamas’s insistence on an unequivocal Israeli commitment to cease hostilities and leave Gaza.
"We want real guarantees that the war will end and will not restart," Hamas’s lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya told Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News. "We do not trust the occupation, not even for a second," he added, accusing Israel of violating two earlier ceasefire agreements during the conflict.
Senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum echoed those concerns, stating that the group seeks not only an end to military operations but the “complete withdrawal of the occupation army” from all areas of Gaza.
The second round of negotiations, held Tuesday in the Egyptian resort town of el-Alamein, focused on withdrawal timetables and the phased release of the remaining 48 Israeli captives held by Hamas — 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
A senior Hamas official speaking anonymously to Al Jazeera said the group proposed a framework in which each stage of hostage release would be directly tied to specific phases of Israeli military withdrawal.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, a coalition of Palestinian factions — including Hamas — released a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to "resistance by all means," and firmly rejected any plan that involves disarming the group.
The declaration was seen as a response to a controversial clause in Trump’s peace plan calling for the disarmament of Palestinian militias.
At the White House, Donald Trump marked the second anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel by expressing cautious optimism. “There is a real chance for a deal,” he said.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to join the Cairo talks on Wednesday, alongside senior Qatari officials and Turkey’s intelligence chief.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a separate statement marking the anniversary of the 2023 attack that killed 1,200 people and triggered the current war, said Israel was engaged in a “war for our very existence and future.”
He did not address the negotiations directly but reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to its war objectives, including the destruction of Hamas’s military infrastructure and the return of all hostages.
Critics of Trump’s peace plan have pointed to its ambiguity, particularly the lack of a defined timeline for Israeli withdrawal, as a potential obstacle to reaching a durable ceasefire agreement.
As talks resume Wednesday, pressure is mounting on all parties to narrow the gaps and achieve a breakthrough that could bring an end to a war that has left tens of thousands dead, displaced millions, and plunged Gaza into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Source: Al Jazeera
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