Turkish intelligence chief and Trump’s special envoy and son-in-law are also joining the talks.
The latest round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel are continuing in Egypt on Wednesday with the participation of Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari confirmed on Tuesday that Sheikh Mohammed will participate in meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh that have been attended by a Qatari delegation over the past days.
“[Sheikh Mohammed’s] participation in the meetings, which the Qatari delegation has been attending over the past few days, comes at a critical stage of the talks, reaffirming the determination of the mediators to reach an agreement that would bring an end to the catastrophic war in the Gaza Strip,” Al-Ansari said on X.
Türkiye’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will join the talks in Egypt, Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday, citing Turkish security sources. The sources said the priority issues are establishing a ceasefire in Gaza, exchanging prisoners and captives, and delivering humanitarian aid to the territory.
The current round of negotiations will also see the participation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, according to Axios. Israel is separately sending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top adviser Ron Dermer to Egypt.
“Bibi [Netanyahu] has done an excellent job. The military pressure was critical to make Hamas more pragmatic. But now Bibi must understand that the time for a deal has come,” a senior U.S. official told Axios.
The current talks are centred on the 20-point peace plan presented by Trump on September 29, accepted by Hamas and Israel.
Some of the points outlined included Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, handing over living and dead captives, and releasing Palestinian detainees. The proposed plan also entailed the end of Hamas’s governance of Gaza.
Hamas’s chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya told Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News on Tuesday that the movement has been negotiating “responsibly” with the hope of reaching a permanent end to the war.
Al-Hayya had survived an assassination attempt in Qatar by Israel on September 9. At the time, Israel launched airstrikes on a residential neighbourhood in Doha where Hamas were reviewing a U.S. ceasefire proposal.
The attack killed Al-Hayya’s son, Humam, along with four other Hamas members and 22-year-old Corporal Bader Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari of Qatar’s Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya).
The assault was also met with outrage in Israel by the captives’ families, who have been demanding Netanyahu’s resignation.
A total of 48 out of 251 captives captured by Hamas on October 7, 2023, are still in Gaza, according to an updated tally by ABC News.
At least 26 of the remaining captives are publicly confirmed dead.
Hamas released more than 140 living and dead captives over the past two years throughout the previous ceasefires and separate initiatives with the hope of reaching a permanent end to the war.
Tahir Al-Nono, Media Advisor to the Head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, announced that the latest talks in Egypt saw the exchange of the lists of prisoners requested for release.
“Today, the lists of prisoners requested for release, based on the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, were exchanged,” he said in a Telegram statement.
Meanwhile, Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip have persisted despite the ongoing negotiations.
Israel has killed at least 67,183 people since waging the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip two years ago, with thousands others still trapped under the rubble.
