“`html
High-level U.S. envoys and key regional stakeholders convened for the third day of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Egypt, focusing on President Donald Trump’s initiative to resolve the conflict in Gaza.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, accompanied by Qatar’s Prime Minister and Turkey’s intelligence chief, in what is anticipated to be a pivotal day for assessing potential progress.
A senior Hamas official informed the BBC of the group’s “necessary positivity” during negotiations, confirming the submission of a list detailing Palestinian prisoners sought for release by Israel in exchange for hostages held in Gaza.
Israeli media outlets, citing government officials, reported “cautious optimism” surrounding the ongoing discussions.
President Trump also conveyed a positive outlook, stating, “There’s a real chance that we could do something.”
The initial two days of indirect talks have primarily addressed mechanisms for ending the protracted two-year conflict in Gaza, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the prospective exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The presence of prominent negotiators is expected to bolster momentum towards a potential agreement.
Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner, who previously served as President Trump’s Middle East advisor, arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh early Wednesday.
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi characterized their arrival as “very encouraging,” noting their presence “with a strong will, a strong message, and a strong mandate from President Trump to end the war in this round of negotiations.”
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and the Director of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation, Ibrahim Kalin, also joined the talks on Wednesday.
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reportedly arrived in the afternoon to lead the Israeli delegation.
Representatives from other Palestinian armed groups, including Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), were also in attendance.
Their involvement appears to be an effort by Hamas to maintain alignment among Palestinian factions and secure the release of hostages believed to be held by these groups.
The senior Hamas official informed the BBC on Wednesday morning that the delegation had submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners for potential release in exchange for the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, with indications that up to 20 remain alive.
The list included several high-profile Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, such as Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat.
Mr. Barghouti, considered a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is serving five life sentences plus 40 years following his 2004 conviction for planning attacks resulting in the deaths of five civilians.
Mr. Saadat, the leader of the PLFP, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted in 2008 of leading an “illegal terrorist organisation” and involvement in attacks, including the assassination of an Israeli minister in 2001.
The Hamas official stated that the group had demonstrated “the necessary positivity and responsibility to achieve the required progress and complete the agreement,” while acknowledging remaining differences between the two parties.
“Mediators are making major efforts to remove any obstacles to implementing a ceasefire,” the official added, noting “a spirit of optimism is spreading among all participants.”
However, a Palestinian official familiar with the discussions told the BBC that “deep gaps” remained concerning interpretations of President Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
The official indicated that disagreements had emerged on nearly all critical issues, including:
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper cited Israeli security sources on Wednesday afternoon as stating there was “a high likelihood for progress, with the possibility of closing the deal in the coming days.”
The sources added that President Trump was himself “intensely involved” in the negotiations.
Earlier, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israeli officials expressed “cautious optimism.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, marking the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Prime Minister Netanyahu did not reference the Sharm el-Sheikh talks but informed Israelis that they were in “a time of fateful decisions.”
He further stated that Israel would “continue to act to achieve all the aims of the war: return all the hostages, destroy the Hamas regime, and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”
Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, whom Israel targeted last month in an air strike in Qatar’s capital, told Egyptian state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV on Tuesday that the group had come to engage in “serious and responsible negotiations.”
Mr. Hayya said that Hamas was prepared to reach an agreement, but required “real guarantees” from President Trump and the international community that the war would end and not resume.
President Trump told reporters at the White House that the U.S. would do “everything possible to make sure everyone adheres to the deal” if Hamas and Israel could reach an agreement.
“I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It’s something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately,” he said.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said President Trump had requested during a recent phone call that he “persuade” Hamas to accept his plan.
However, he told lawmakers from his AK party that placing pressure on Israel was equally important, stating its attacks on Gaza were “the greatest obstacle before the path leading to peace.”
The Israeli military appears to have scaled back its ground offensive on Gaza City in recent days following a request from President Trump on Friday to “stop the bombing.”
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said on Wednesday that Israeli fire had killed at least eight people over the previous 24 hours – the lowest death toll it has reported in the past week.
Hospitals reported that two people had been killed on Wednesday while attempting to collect food from aid distribution centres in central and southern Gaza.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed approximately 1,200 people and took 251 others as hostages.
At least 67,183 individuals have been killed by Israeli military operations in Gaza since then, including 20,179 children, according to the territory’s health ministry. The UN and other international organizations consider these figures to be reliable, although Israel disputes them.
The ministry has reported an additional 460 deaths resulting from malnutrition since the start of the war, including 182 since a famine was confirmed in Gaza City in August by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
Prime Minister Netanyahu has consistently denied that starvation is occurring in Gaza and asserted that Israel is facilitating the delivery of food and other aid.
Additional reporting by Helen Sullivan
Follow the twists and turns of Trump’s second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher’s weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
A spokesperson from Ultra PCS said they respect and support the right to peaceful protest.
The government needs to “go further” in its review into protest laws, Sir Keir Starmer says.
A Jewish man criticised the cutting down of the yellow ribbons as “morally repugnant”.
“The horror of that dark day will be forever seared in the memories of us all,” UN Secretary General António Guterres says.
Laura Schosloff accused students taking part in the protests of celebrating the deaths of 1,200 people.
“`