'Optimism prevails' in Gaza talks with Israel: Hamas

CAIRO: Hamas said Wednesday that "optimism" was prevailing in indirect talks with Israel aimed at ending the Gaza war, with the Palestinian group submitting a list of prisoners it wants released in exchange for freeing Israeli hostages as part of an agreement.

The talks aim to thrash out a plan to implement a 20-point peace proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump last month, and which both Israel and Hamas have responded positively to.

The plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages, Hamas's disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

On Wednesday, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkey's intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Trump's special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner were all due in Sharm El-Sheikh.

"The mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails among all parties," senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP from Sharm El-Sheikh.

List of prisoners 

The Palestinian group submitted a list of prisoners it wants to be released in the first phase of the truce "in accordance with the agreed-upon criteria and numbers", Nunu added.

In exchange, Hamas is set to release 47 hostages, both alive and dead. "There's a real chance that we could do something," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

"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."

‘Everything possible’ 

Trump said the United States would do "everything possible to make sure everyone adheres to the deal" if Hamas and Israel did agree on a ceasefire.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,160 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Gaza, figures the United Nations considers credible.

Global pressure  

Global pressure to end the war has escalated, with much of Gaza flattened, a UN-declared famine unfolding and Israeli hostage families still longing for their loved ones' return.

A UN probe last month accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of protesters joined pro-Palestinian mass demonstrations in cities across the world last weekend calling for an immediate end to the war, including in Italy, Spain, Ireland and Britain.

In Gaza, people were desperate for an end to a war that has upended their lives, interrupted their children's education, and left many families scarred by loss and grief.

"My dream is for the war to end now, not tomorrow," said Abeer Abu Said, a 21-year-old in Gaza who has lost seven family members in the war.

'Guarantees from President Trump'

Key to the negotiations will be the names of the Palestinian prisoners Hamas will push for.

According to Egyptian state-linked media, high-profile inmate Marwan Barghouti -- from the Fatah movement -- is among those the group wants to see released.

He has been imprisoned since 2002, and was sentenced to life behind bars in 2004 on murder charges.

More broadly, Hamas's top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said the group wants "guarantees from President Trump and the sponsor countries that the war will end once and for all".

Minister's visit condemned

A Palestinian source close to the Hamas negotiating team said Tuesday's session included Hamas discussing "the initial maps presented by the Israeli side regarding the withdrawal of troops as well as the mechanism and timetable for the hostage-prisoner exchange".

Meanwhile, Hamas has condemned a visit by Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Al-Aqsa compound on Wednesday morning.