Delegations from Hamas and Israel on Monday began indirect talks in Egypt on US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, Egyptian state-linked media reported, as officials said mutual distrust could complicate the negotiations.
Al-Qahera News, which is linked to state intelligence, said the delegations in the Sinai resort town of Sharm el Sheikh “are discussing preparing ground conditions for the release” of the remaining 48 hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians, including 250 life-term terrorists.
“Egyptian and Qatari mediators are working with both sides to establish a mechanism” for the exchange, the network reported, as officials indicated Hamas was wary of giving up its leverage by freeing the hostages early.
A source from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office earlier confirmed to The Times of Israel that Israeli negotiators traveled to Sharm el Sheikh Monday afternoon.
“We are ready for all scenarios and hope to conclude the talks with success,” said a PMO official.
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The Israeli delegation includes officials from the Mossad and Shin Bet, Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk and hostages coordinator Gal Hirsch. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the chief negotiator, is only expected to join later this week pending developments in the negotiations, according to Israeli officials.
The sun sets at the peace square in the Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where Israeli and Hamas officials are set to hold indirect talks, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo)
Officials warn of extended talks
Hamas’s lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, who survived Israel’s botched September 9 strike on Hamas’s leadership in Doha, was set to hold a preparatory discussion with Qatari and Egyptian mediators to determine the date of a temporary truce,” according to a senior Hamas official quoted by BBC.
Egyptian sources said Hamas is seeking clarification of several details, including guarantees that Israel would follow through with promises to withdraw its troops from Gaza once the terror group releases the hostages and loses its leverage.
Though Trump says he wants a deal quickly, a Palestinian official close to the talks was skeptical about prospects of a breakthrough given deep mutual mistrust, saying Hamas and other Palestinian factions were worried Israel might ditch the talks once the hostages are freed.
Hamas has also said field conditions would make it difficult to recover the remains of the slain hostages — of whom there are at least 26, according to the IDF — within 72 hours of the start of a ceasefire, as stipulated by Trump’s plan.
According to an official cited by Reuters, whose nationality was not specified, another issue mediators would not address would be the fine print of a transfer of Gaza’s governance away from Hamas to an International Stabilization Force envisioned by Trump’s plan.
“The goal is to reach agreement on a comprehensive deal with all details worked out before the ceasefire can begin to be implemented,” said the official.
IDF troops seen operating in the Gaza Strip in an image published October 6, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
“Hamas and Israel have agreed to the fundamentals of the Trump 20-point plan. The next phase or phases of talks are designed to tackle the specific details, which in the past has been a lengthy process,” the official added. A ceasefire-hostage deal secured in January saw mediators secure an agreement on a first phase while leaving the rest to be negotiated later, only for the whole process to collapse within short order.
A Hamas source told Reuters that another thorny issue is the terror group’s disarmament, as stipulated by Trump’s proposal.
The source said Hamas would lay down its arms only when Israel ends its occupation and a Palestinian state is created. Hamas regards Israel’s existence as occupation, and avowedly seeks to destroy the Jewish state.
A Palestinian source close to Hamas’s leadership told AFP that the talks “may last for several days” and would likely be “difficult and complex, given the occupation’s intentions to continue its war of extermination.”
Plan draws more praise
Despite the potential difficulties Trump’s proposal will face, it continued to garner international praise on Monday.
As negotiators converged on Egypt, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi said in an address: “I can only extend my praise and appreciation for US President Donald Trump.”
“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,” he said.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told German public broadcaster ARD that the ongoing attempts to end the Gaza war were the most promising since the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war.
A man and children walk past tents sheltering people displaced by war, pitched near the damaged Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani mosque at the Qatari-built Hamad City residential complex in northwestern Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 6, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
“For the first time in two years, it is not just about a ceasefire, but about a viable political solution. Israeli, Arab and Palestinian actors now share ideas on how things can continue in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei was more measured, saying Tehran supports any initiative that “ends the killing in Gaza” but cautioning that it has dangerous dimensions and risks obstruction from Israel. He added that any decision on the plan is up to the Palestinians.
Trump presented his proposal at a joint White House press conference last Monday with Netanyahu, who endorsed the proposal. It was welcomed by Western, Arab and Muslim nations, as well as the Palestinian Authority, which the plan would see take over Gaza after undergoing significant reforms.
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