On the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023, attack, Israeli and Hamas negotiators launched high-stakes indirect talks in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, chasing a U.S.-crafted peace plan to halt the catastrophic Gaza war. The marathon session, stretching into Monday night, centered on a fragile first phase: releasing 48 remaining hostages—about 20 believed alive—in exchange for a ceasefire and Palestinian prisoner releases, though Israel’s relentless airstrikes, killing 19 in the past 24 hours, cast a shadow over the delicate process.
The talks, led by Israel’s Ron Dermer and Hamas’s Khalil al-Hayyah, with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in attendance, aim to untangle thorny issues like Hamas’s disarmament and Gaza’s future governance. Egyptian mediators reported progress on initial terms, with discussions set to resume Tuesday afternoon.
President Donald Trump’s plan, unveiled last week, envisions a hostage-free Gaza, Hamas’s surrender of arms, and a rebuilt territory under a new framework—a potential springboard for broader Middle East peace. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi praised Trump’s vision, tying it to the region’s stability since Egypt’s 1973 war triumph.
Yet, the bloodshed persists. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 67,160 deaths and 170,000 injuries since the war’s onset, with over half the casualties women and children, as Israel’s offensive razes cities and displaces 90% of Gaza’s 2 million people. Despite Trump’s call to halt bombings, Israel claims its strikes are defensive, targeting Hamas’s urban strongholds, while the group demands a full military withdrawal.
The October 7 attack, which saw 1,200 Israelis killed and 251 abducted, mostly civilians, continues to haunt both sides. Most hostages were freed in prior truces, but the fate of those still held fuels Israel’s resolve and public outrage.
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In Israel, families of the fallen and abducted marked the grim milestone with defiance. At Nir Oz kibbutz, survivor Daniel Lifshitz demanded the talks prioritize hostage releases, even at the cost of freeing Palestinian prisoners. “We cherish life, and in Trump we trust to make it happen,” he said, echoing a campaign to nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize for his peace efforts. In Gaza, families like Amal al-Taweel’s, whose son Ali was born the day the war began, endure squalid tent camps, stripped of food, sanitation, and safety, their dreams of normalcy shattered by relentless displacement.
The Vatican weighed in, condemning Hamas’s “inhuman massacre” while slamming Israel’s “disproportionate” devastation, urging an end to arms supplies fueling the war. As global pressure mounts and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis deepens, the Sharm el-Sheikh talks offer a sliver of hope. But with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to dismantle Hamas and Hamas holding firm, the path to peace remains fraught, as the region braces for either a breakthrough or another cycle of despair.
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