CAIRO: Hamas said Wednesday that &quot;optimism&quot; 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&#39;s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. On Wednesday, Qatar&#39;s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkey&#39;s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Trump&#39;s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the president&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner were all due in Sharm El-Sheikh. &quot;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,&quot; senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP from Sharm El-Sheikh. List of prisoners&nbsp;The Palestinian group submitted a list of prisoners it wants to be released in the first phase of the truce &quot;in accordance with the agreed-upon criteria and numbers&quot;, Nunu added. In exchange, Hamas is set to release 47 hostages, both alive and dead.&nbsp;&quot;There&#39;s a real chance that we could do something,&quot; Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. &quot;I think there&#39;s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It&#39;s something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately.&quot; &lsquo;Everything possible&rsquo;&nbsp;Trump said the United States would do &quot;everything possible to make sure everyone adheres to the deal&quot; if Hamas and Israel did agree on a ceasefire. Israel&#39;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. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Global pressure &nbsp;</h2>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&#39; return. A UN probe last month accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.&nbsp;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&#39;s education, and left many families scarred by loss and grief. &quot;My dream is for the war to end now, not tomorrow,&quot; said Abeer Abu Said, a 21-year-old in Gaza who has lost seven family members in the war. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Guarantees from President Trump&#39;</h2>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&#39;s top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said the group wants &quot;guarantees from President Trump and the sponsor countries that the war will end once and for all&quot;. Minister&#39;s visit condemned A Palestinian source close to the Hamas negotiating team said Tuesday&#39;s session included Hamas discussing &quot;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&quot;. Meanwhile, Hamas has condemned a visit by Israel&#39;s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Al-Aqsa compound on Wednesday morning.

Middle East

The Palestinian group has expressed optimism in ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel, involving a proposed US-backed plan including prisoner exchanges, hostage releases, and Israeli withdrawal; Hamas also condemned visit by Israel's far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Al-Aqsa compound.

'Optimism prevails' in Gaza talks with Israel: Hamas 

ROME: Israel&rsquo;s World Cup qualifying match at Italy next week is expected to attract more pro-Palestinian protesters outside the soccer stadium in Udine than ticket-holding spectators inside the arena.&nbsp;Protesters already approached the gates of Italy&rsquo;s training center in Florence last week to demand that the match isn&rsquo;t played because of the war in Gaza, part of a national strike that saw millions of activists take to the streets.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not going to be a calm environment,&rdquo; Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso acknowledged Tuesday from inside the Coverciano training center that was targeted. &ldquo;There will be 10,000 people outside the stadium and 5-6,000 inside the stadium.&rdquo;&nbsp;As of Monday, only 4,000 tickets were sold for next Tuesday&rsquo;s match at Stadio Friuli.&nbsp;While UEFA had been considering suspending Israel over the war and Udine Mayor Alberto Felice De Toni had called for the game to be postponed, with Italy desperately attempting to avoid failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, the four-time champion doesn&rsquo;t plan to risk not playing.&nbsp;&ldquo;We have to play this match. Because if we don&rsquo;t, we&rsquo;ll lose it 3-0,&rdquo; Gattuso said, referring to the rule for forfeited matches. &ldquo;(Italian soccer federation) president (Gabriele) Gravina explained that very well.&rdquo;&nbsp;There was also tension on the field between the two squads after the final whistle when Italy edged Israel 5-4 in a nine-goal thriller last month in neutral Hungary, where Israel has been playing its &ldquo;home&rdquo; matches during the war.&nbsp;The protesters in Italy and elsewhere have also been reacting to an international aid mission blocked by Israeli forces.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s upsetting to see what&rsquo;s happening to innocent people and children,&rdquo; Gattuso said. &ldquo;It hurts your heart.&rdquo;&nbsp;Italy and Israel are level six points behind group leader Norway, with only the first-place finisher in the group to qualify directly for next year&rsquo;s tournament in North America.&nbsp;The second-place finishers progress to a playoff, the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.&nbsp;&nbsp;Israel could also face protests during a visit to Norway on Saturday.&nbsp;The Norwegian soccer federation pledged to give its profits from ticket sales for the game in Oslo to humanitarian work in Gaza by Doctors Without Borders.&nbsp;Italy played Israel in Udine last October in the Nations League. That game went off without incident amid a heavy police presence and despite a pro-Palestinian demonstration before the game. Italy won 4-1.

Football

Protests are expected during next week’s Italy-Israel World Cup qualifying match in Udine, raising security concerns amid anger over the Gaza war and increasing calls for the game’s cancellation.


Tension builds as Italy-Israel World Cup qualifying match faces protests

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday that it was ready to act as a neutral humanitarian intermediary to help bring Israeli and Palestinian hostages back to their families, Reuters reported. &quot;We are also prepared to bring aid into Gaza and distribute it safely to civilians in desperate need,&quot; ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement. Israel and Hamas prepared for indirect negotiations in Egypt on Monday, as hopes for a possible ceasefire in Gaza grew after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a hostage release could be announced this week, the Associated Press reported. US President Donald Trump has welcomed the Hamas statement accepting some elements of the US peace plan. <div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115312181572421839/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; min-height: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Israel has stated that it supports the new US effort. The delegation, led by top Israeli negotiator Ron Dermer, will leave on Monday for the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Netanyahu&#39;s office said. &lsquo;Closest we&rsquo;ve come&rsquo;An Egyptian official said the Hamas delegation had arrived.&nbsp; The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said US envoy Steve Witkoff is joining the talks. Discussions will focus on the proposed exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, Egypt&rsquo;s foreign ministry said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the situation &ldquo;the closest we&rsquo;ve come to getting all of the hostages released.&rdquo; Egyptian president praises Trump&#39;s plan&nbsp; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi praised US President Donald Trump&#39;s Gaza plan on Monday, as negotiators from Hamas, Israel and the United States converged on Egypt to discuss a hostage-prisoner exchange and ceasefire, the AFP reported. &quot;I can only extend my praise and appreciation for US President Donald Trump,&quot; he said in an address, adding: &quot;A ceasefire, the return of prisoners and detainees, the reconstruction of Gaza and the launch of a peaceful political process that leads to the establishment and recognition of the Palestinian state means we are on the right path to lasting peace and stability.&quot; Back to the &lsquo;yellow line&rsquo;Speaking on ABC&rsquo;s &ldquo;This Week,&rsquo;&rsquo; he described two phases after Hamas accepts Trump&rsquo;s framework: The hostages are released and Israel pulls back in Gaza to the &ldquo;yellow line,&rdquo; where it was in August. Rubio told CBS that Hamas should release hostages as they are ready, and that bombardment needs to end so they can be released. The US plan also addresses Gaza&#39;s future, the Associated Press reported. In a text exchange with CNN&rsquo;s Jake Tapper, Trump said there would be &ldquo;complete obliteration&rdquo; if Hamas stayed in power there.&nbsp; Trump also texted that Netanyahu was on board for ending the bombing and peace in Gaza, but added, &ldquo;soon on the rest.&rdquo; Support for a ceasefire growsIsraeli government spokeswoman Shosh Badrosian told journalists that Netanyahu is in &ldquo;regular contact&rdquo; with Trump and that the prime minister has stressed that the talks in Egypt &ldquo;will be confined to a few days maximum.&rdquo; &ldquo;I hope that we are closest to a hostage deal since the (ceasefire) deal in January,&rdquo; Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa&rsquo;ar said in a speech. Anxious relatives of hostages gathered near Netanyahu&#39;s residence in Jerusalem, with some urging Trump to continue to apply pressure.&nbsp; Israel&#39;s recent military offensive in Gaza City led many to fear for the hostages&#39; lives. &ldquo;We cannot allow such a historic agreement to be sacrificed again,&rdquo; said Michel Ilouz, father of Guy Ilouz. &lsquo;Full Israeli withdrawal&rsquo;As hundreds of thousands of people marched across several European cities and elsewhere in support of Palestinians, the foreign ministers of eight Muslim-majority countries issued a joint statement welcoming steps toward a possible ceasefire. They also underlined their commitment to the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza, unifying Gaza and the West Bank, and reaching an agreement leading to a &ldquo;full Israeli withdrawal&rdquo; from Gaza. Rubio told ABC that decisions regarding a governing structure or an international group to manage Gaza can be made simultaneously with the first step of the ceasefire. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the part that I think is going to be a little tougher to work through, but that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s going to provide permanency to the end of the conflict,&rdquo; he said. Iran supports moves towards Palestinian &#39;self-determination&#39;Iran said Sunday it supports &quot;any initiative&quot; aiming to secure &quot;self-determination&quot; for the Palestinian people, on the eve of negotiations in Egypt on ending the war between the Palestinian group and Israel, AFP reported. Iran &quot;has always supported any initiative aimed at ending ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, and paving the way for the realisation of the Palestinian people&#39;s right to self-determination,&quot; the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that Tehran was ready to help deliver aid to the coastal strip. Strikes continue&nbsp;Trump has ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza, but residents and local hospitals said strikes continued across the territory, according to AP. The Israeli government spokeswoman, Badrosian, said &ldquo;certain bombings have actually stopped inside the Gaza Strip.&rdquo; But Israel&rsquo;s military chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said that &ldquo;if the political effort does not succeed, we will return to fight.&rdquo; 24 Palestinians killed&nbsp;Despite a call from Trump for Israel to pause its Gaza offensive, the Israeli army has continued its bombing campaign. Israeli troops killed at least 24 Palestinians on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported. Among the victims were four asylum seekers who were shot near an aid distribution centre north of Rafah, the Nasser Medical Complex said. Doctors Without Borders confirmed the death of colleague Abed El Hameed Qaradaya, who was wounded in an attack on Thursday that killed another colleague in Gaza, AP reported. Gaza&rsquo;s health ministry said the Palestinian death toll in the war reached 67,139 on Sunday, with nearly 170,000 injured. The UN and many independent experts consider the ministry&rsquo;s figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel&#39;s military has warned residents not to return to northern Gaza. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re on the brink, and we don&rsquo;t know whether one will die of a strike or starvation,&rdquo; said Mahmoud Hashem, a Palestinian father sheltering in a tent in Gaza City.

Hamas and Israel are preparing for indirect negotiations in Egypt amid rising hopes for a Gaza ceasefire; talks center on a US-backed plan involving hostage release, Hamas disarmament, and steps toward long-term peace in Gaza

Articles tagged with "Gaza war"

'Optimism prevails' in Gaza talks with Israel: Hamas

Tension builds as Italy-Israel World Cup qualifying match faces protests

Red Cross offers to mediate hostage, detainee swap