In a glimmer of hope amid two years of escalating conflict, Israel and Hamas have kicked off indirect Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt on Monday, October 6, 2025.
The talks began just hours before the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
The high-stakes negotiations, hosted in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, center on United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
Recall that Trump had unveiled the peace plan which proposed an immediate halt to hostilities, the release of remaining Israeli hostages, and Israel’s phased withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
According to Trump’s proposal, the exchange would see the 48 remaining Israeli hostages released. Israeli officials believe about 20 of them are still alive. After that, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who are being held by Israel would be freed. Of those prisoners, 250 are serving life sentences and 1,700 are from Gaza and were detained after the October 7 attack.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass also reports that the indirect Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt mark a pivotal moment in the protracted Israel-Hamas war, which has claimed over 67,000 Palestinian lives according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and left vast swaths of the territory in ruins.
As delegations from both sides arrived under tight security, Egyptian mediators emphasized the talks’ focus on “mechanisms for implementation,” including hostage exchanges and troop pullbacks to the so-called “yellow line” – Israel’s position in Gaza as of August 2025.
Hamas, led by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, signaled flexibility by omitting its traditional “red lines” on disarmament and governance from initial statements, a concession reportedly urged by Qatari, Egyptian, and Turkish intermediaries.
Recall also that Hamas — which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Israel, and many other nations — disclosed on Friday that it agreed to some of the key things in the 20-point peace plan, including releasing all the remaining hostages, living and deceased, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. It also said it agreed to hand over control of Gaza to a transitional international body.
But Hamas did not immediately agree to other points in Trump’s proposal, including some related to its disarmament and future role in Palestinian politics.
“The other issues mentioned in President Trump’s proposal regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and the inherent rights of the Palestinian people are linked to a comprehensive national position and based on relevant international laws and resolutions,” the group said.
“They are to be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework. Hamas will be part of it and will contribute to it with full responsibility.”
However, Trump on Sunday urged the negotiators to “move fast” in the Gaza ceasefire talks, calling ongoing discussions between Hamas and other nations in the region about the ceasefire proposal “very successful.” He said they were “proceeding rapidly.”
“The technical teams will again meet on Monday, in Egypt, to work through and clarify the final details,” Mr. Trump said. “I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST. I will continue to monitor this centuries-old ‘conflict.’ TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE OR, MASSIVE BLOODSHED WILL FOLLOW – SOMETHING THAT NOBODY WANTS TO SEE!”
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Israeli Hostages Families Forum, which represents most of the families of those still missing, sent a letter to the Nobel Prize committee urging them to bestow the Nobel Peace Prize on Mr. Trump for his “unwavering commitment and extraordinary leadership” in seeking a deal to bring the remaining captives home.
The forum said it was backing Mr. Trump for a Nobel “with hearts full of gratitude and a profound sense of momentous urgency,” lauding the president’s “determination to bring peace.”
“At this very moment, President Trump’s comprehensive plan to release all remaining hostages and
finally end this terrible war is on the table,” the forum says in its letter. “For the first time in months, we are hopeful that our nightmare will finally be over. We are confident that he will not rest until the last hostage is brought home, the war has ended, and peace and prosperity are restored to the people of the Middle East.”
