Tuesday, 14 October, 2025
Hamas said on Tuesday it is prepared to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza based on Donald Trump’s proposed framework, but insisted that several key demands must still be met.
The statement came as Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and senior U.S. mediators traveled to Cairo to join renewed indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, aimed at ending two years of conflict.
The renewed diplomatic push coincided with the second anniversary of Hamas’s deadly October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the ongoing Gaza war.
Speaking in Washington, President Trump voiced optimism about the talks, saying progress toward a ceasefire and broader regional peace was possible.
“I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East — not just in Gaza,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
A U.S. delegation including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and his former Middle East adviser, has departed for Cairo to participate in the discussions alongside Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Diplomatic sources say the Trump plan under discussion includes a phased ceasefire, the release of hostages and detainees, and a reconstruction roadmap for Gaza, though major political and security disputes remain unresolved.
Quoting a source close to the talks, Reuters said they had adjourned for the day and the atmosphere had been better than on Monday. Negotiations on Wednesday would be a decisive indicator of whether progress was possible given the presence of the senior mediators, the source said.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani will join the talks on Wednesday, an official told Reuters, "with the aim of pushing forward the Gaza ceasefire plan and hostage release agreement".
On the second day of talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, top Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya told Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV the group had come "to engage in serious and responsible negotiations."
He said Hamas was ready to reach a deal, yet it needed a "guarantee" to end the war and ensure "it is not repeated".
According to Gaza authorities, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and Gaza devastated since the Oct 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants on Israel. Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken back to Gaza as hostages on that day.
The talks appear to hold the most promise yet of ending the war. 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 war.
Even if a deal is clinched, questions will linger over who will govern Gaza and rebuild it, and who will finance the huge cost of reconstruction. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have ruled out any role for Hamas.
HAMAS Sets Out Conitions
"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," senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a televised statement.
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 pullout of Israeli forces and the immediate start of a comprehensive reconstruction process under the supervision of a Palestinian "national technocratic body", he said.
Underlining the obstacles at talks, an umbrella of Palestinian factions including Hamas issued a statement vowing a "resistance stance by all means" and saying "no one has the right to cede the weapons of the Palestinian people".
Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the status of the talks.
US officials have suggested they want to initially focus talks on a halt to the fighting and the logistics of how the hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel would be freed.
Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency, will also take part in the ceasefire negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, according to a Turkish security source.
In the absence of a ceasefire, Israel has pressed on with its offensive in Gaza, increasing its international isolation.
Opponents of Israel's actions in Gaza held protests in Sydney, Australia and a handful of European cities on the anniversary of Hamas' attack, despite denunciations by politicians who said such marches risked glorifying violence.
On the second anniversary of the conflict, Israelis and Palestinians alike reflected on the toll of the war, while hopes lingered for progress in peace talks.
In southern Israel, some visited sites that were hardest hit during the attacks. Orit Baron stood at the location of the Nova music festival beside a photograph of her daughter, Yuval, who was killed alongside her fiancé Moshe Shuva. They were among 364 people who were shot, bludgeoned, or burned to death that day.
“They were supposed to get married on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Since they were found together, both families decided their funerals would also be together,” Baron said. “They are buried next to each other because they were never separated.”
Amid these personal tragedies, Israelis are looking to the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh with hope that the 48 hostages still held in Gaza will be released, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
“It’s like an open wound. I can’t believe it’s been two years and they are still not home,” said Hilda Weisthal, 43, one of the relatives following the talks closely.
In Gaza, the war’s human cost is equally stark. Mohammed Dib, 49, spoke of the fear and displacement faced by Palestinians over the past two years.
“It’s been two years living in fear, horror, displacement, and destruction,” he said. According to Gaza health authorities, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and countless others have been forced to flee their homes multiple times.
Residents of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and Gaza City in the north reported renewed Israeli attacks in the early hours of Tuesday, including strikes by tanks, planes, and naval vessels.
The Israeli military said militants in Gaza fired rockets into Israel, triggering air raid sirens at Netiv Haasara, a kibbutz near the border, while Israeli forces continued operations against armed groups inside the enclave.
Despite the ongoing violence, civilians on both sides are clinging to the possibility of a breakthrough. For many Israelis, that means the safe return of hostages. For Palestinians in Gaza, it means an end to displacement and destruction and the hope for a more stable future.
The anniversary serves as a stark reminder of the war’s human cost, even as negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh seek to chart a path toward a fragile, yet desperately needed, peace.
Comments
Hamas said on Tuesday it is prepared to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza based on Donald Trump’s proposed framework, but insisted that several key demands must still be met.
The statement came as Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and senior U.S. mediators traveled to Cairo to join renewed indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, aimed at ending two years of conflict.
The renewed diplomatic push coincided with the second anniversary of Hamas’s deadly October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the ongoing Gaza war.
Speaking in Washington, President Trump voiced optimism about the talks, saying progress toward a ceasefire and broader regional peace was possible.
“I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East — not just in Gaza,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
A U.S. delegation including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and his former Middle East adviser, has departed for Cairo to participate in the discussions alongside Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Diplomatic sources say the Trump plan under discussion includes a phased ceasefire, the release of hostages and detainees, and a reconstruction roadmap for Gaza, though major political and security disputes remain unresolved.
Quoting a source close to the talks, Reuters said they had adjourned for the day and the atmosphere had been better than on Monday. Negotiations on Wednesday would be a decisive indicator of whether progress was possible given the presence of the senior mediators, the source said.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani will join the talks on Wednesday, an official told Reuters, "with the aim of pushing forward the Gaza ceasefire plan and hostage release agreement".
On the second day of talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, top Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya told Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV the group had come "to engage in serious and responsible negotiations."
He said Hamas was ready to reach a deal, yet it needed a "guarantee" to end the war and ensure "it is not repeated".
According to Gaza authorities, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and Gaza devastated since the Oct 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants on Israel. Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken back to Gaza as hostages on that day.
The talks appear to hold the most promise yet of ending the war. 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 war.
Even if a deal is clinched, questions will linger over who will govern Gaza and rebuild it, and who will finance the huge cost of reconstruction. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have ruled out any role for Hamas.
HAMAS Sets Out Conitions
"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," senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a televised statement.
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 pullout of Israeli forces and the immediate start of a comprehensive reconstruction process under the supervision of a Palestinian "national technocratic body", he said.
Underlining the obstacles at talks, an umbrella of Palestinian factions including Hamas issued a statement vowing a "resistance stance by all means" and saying "no one has the right to cede the weapons of the Palestinian people".
Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the status of the talks.
US officials have suggested they want to initially focus talks on a halt to the fighting and the logistics of how the hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel would be freed.
Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency, will also take part in the ceasefire negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, according to a Turkish security source.
In the absence of a ceasefire, Israel has pressed on with its offensive in Gaza, increasing its international isolation.
Opponents of Israel's actions in Gaza held protests in Sydney, Australia and a handful of European cities on the anniversary of Hamas' attack, despite denunciations by politicians who said such marches risked glorifying violence.
On the second anniversary of the conflict, Israelis and Palestinians alike reflected on the toll of the war, while hopes lingered for progress in peace talks.
In southern Israel, some visited sites that were hardest hit during the attacks. Orit Baron stood at the location of the Nova music festival beside a photograph of her daughter, Yuval, who was killed alongside her fiancé Moshe Shuva. They were among 364 people who were shot, bludgeoned, or burned to death that day.
“They were supposed to get married on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Since they were found together, both families decided their funerals would also be together,” Baron said. “They are buried next to each other because they were never separated.”
Amid these personal tragedies, Israelis are looking to the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh with hope that the 48 hostages still held in Gaza will be released, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
“It’s like an open wound. I can’t believe it’s been two years and they are still not home,” said Hilda Weisthal, 43, one of the relatives following the talks closely.
In Gaza, the war’s human cost is equally stark. Mohammed Dib, 49, spoke of the fear and displacement faced by Palestinians over the past two years.
“It’s been two years living in fear, horror, displacement, and destruction,” he said. According to Gaza health authorities, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and countless others have been forced to flee their homes multiple times.
Residents of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and Gaza City in the north reported renewed Israeli attacks in the early hours of Tuesday, including strikes by tanks, planes, and naval vessels.
The Israeli military said militants in Gaza fired rockets into Israel, triggering air raid sirens at Netiv Haasara, a kibbutz near the border, while Israeli forces continued operations against armed groups inside the enclave.
Despite the ongoing violence, civilians on both sides are clinging to the possibility of a breakthrough. For many Israelis, that means the safe return of hostages. For Palestinians in Gaza, it means an end to displacement and destruction and the hope for a more stable future.
The anniversary serves as a stark reminder of the war’s human cost, even as negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh seek to chart a path toward a fragile, yet desperately needed, peace.
Comments
