SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Hamas said on Tuesday it wants to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza based on US President Trump’s plan but still has a set of demands, a statement signalling that indirect talks with Israel in Egypt could be difficult and lengthy.
Senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum set out Hamas’s position on the second anniversary of the Palestinian group’s attack on Israel, and one day after the indirect negotiations began in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The talks appear the most promising yet for ending a so called war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza.
But officials on all sides urged caution over the prospects for a rapid agreement, as Israelis remembered the bloodiest single day for Jews since the Holocaust and Gazans voiced hope for an end to the suffering brought by two years of Israeli aggression.
Hamas sets out conditions
“The (Hamas) movement’s delegation participating in the current negotiations in Egypt is working to overcome all obstacles to reaching an agreement that meets the aspirations of our people in Gaza,” Barhoum said in a televised statement.
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He said a deal must ensure an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip – conditions that Israel has never accepted. Israel, for its part wants Hamas to disarm, something the group rejects.
Hamas wants a permanent, comprehensive ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the immediate start of a comprehensive reconstruction process under the supervision of a Palestinian “national technocratic body”, he said.
Underlining the obstacles lying ahead at talks, an umbrella of Palestinian factions including Hamas issued a statement vowing “resistance stance by all means” and saying “no one has the right to cede the weapons of the Palestinian people.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the status of the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh.
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US officials have suggested they want to initially focus talks on a halt to the fighting and the logistics of how the hostages and political prisoners would be released. But Qatar, one of the mediators, said many details had to be worked out, indicating there was unlikely to be an imminent agreement.
In the absence of a ceasefire, Israel has pressed on with its offensive in Gaza, increasing its international isolation and prompting pro-Palestinian protests abroad which were set to continue on Tuesday.
Hopes of a breakthrough by civilians on both sides
On the anniversary of the 2023 attack, some Israelis visited the places that were hit hardest that day.
Orit Baron stood at the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel beside a photo of her daughter Yuval who was killed with her fiance Moshe Shuva. They were among 364 people were shot.
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“They were supposed to get married on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. And both of the families decided because actually they were found (dead) together and they brought them to us together (that) the funeral will be together,” said Baron.
“They are buried next to each other because they were never separated.”
Israelis are hoping the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh will soon lead to the release of all the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
“It’s like an open wound, the hostages, I can’t believe it’s been two years and they are still not home,” said Hilda Weisthal, 43.
In Gaza, 49-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Dib hoped for the end of Israeli aggression that has caused a humanitarian crisis, displaced many Palestinians multiple times and killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
“It’s been two years that we are living in fear, horror, displacement and destruction,” he said.
No ceasefire after two years of war
In the latest violence, residents of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and Gaza City in the north reported new attacks by Israeli tanks, planes and boats in the early hours on Tuesday.
The Israeli military claimed fighters in Gaza fired rockets into Israel, setting off air raid sirens at Israeli kibbutz Netiv Haasara, and that Israeli troops continued to tackle gunmen inside the enclave.
Israel and Hamas have endorsed the overall principles behind Trump’s plan, under which fighting would cease, hostages go free and aid pour into Gaza. It also has backing from Arab and Western states.
But an official involved in ceasefire planning and a Palestinian source said Trump’s 72-hour deadline for the hostages’ return may be unachievable for dead hostages as their remains may need to be located and recovered.
Even if a deal is clinched, questions will linger over who will rule Gaza and rebuild it. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have ruled out any role for Hamas.
Another key issue is who will provide the billions of dollars need to rebuild an enclave that has mostly been turned into rubble.
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