US President Donald Trump has said a peace deal to end the war in Gaza is “very close,” following what officials described as major progress in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Egypt.
Talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh entered a third day on Wednesday, with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators holding seven hours of discussions with a Hamas delegation that included representatives of other Palestinian factions. Mediators later met the Israeli team to finalize responses on key sticking points.
According to officials, the talks focused on the first phase of Trump’s proposed 20-point peace plan, which outlines a ceasefire, the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
At an unrelated event in Washington, Trump told reporters he had received a note from Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting, informing him that “we are very close to a deal.” Moments later, Trump left the room, saying he needed to “focus on the Middle East.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is considering traveling to the region on Friday.
A Palestinian official told the BBC that progress had been made on prisoner-exchange lists and guarantees to prevent a return to fighting. Hamas, he said, had agreed to release all Israeli hostages while delaying the return of bodies until “field conditions” permit.
The talks are being hailed as the most significant diplomatic effort since the conflict erupted. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner — who helped broker the 2020 Abraham Accords — joined the negotiations on Wednesday alongside Qatar’s prime minister and Turkey’s intelligence chief.
A senior Hamas official said the group had “shown the necessary positivity and responsibility” to advance the agreement, while Israeli officials told local media they were “cautiously optimistic.”
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived later in the day to lead the Israeli delegation.
Despite optimism, major disagreements persist over the timeline for troop withdrawal and the map of control zones during the ceasefire.
A Palestinian source said mediators had proposed a compromise that would see Israel control about 40% of Gaza during the first phase — down from 55% in the US-proposed plan but short of Hamas’s demand for a full pullback to March positions.
Trump’s 20-point plan envisions a phased process, including disarmament guarantees, international monitoring, and post-war reconstruction led by Arab and Western donors.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi praised the arrival of Witkoff and Kushner as “very encouraging,” describing them as carrying a “strong mandate” from Trump to end the war.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed he had spoken with Trump, who asked him to persuade Hamas to accept the plan. Erdogan added that Israel must also face pressure, calling its ongoing attacks “the greatest obstacle on the path to peace.”
Ceasefire Hopes as Fighting Eases
Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza appeared to slow this week, reportedly in response to a US request for restraint. Gaza’s health ministry said eight people were killed in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours — the lowest daily toll in a week.
Israel’s campaign began after Hamas-led gunmen killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in the October 7, 2023 attack. Since then, at least 67,183 Palestinians — including over 20,000 children — have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures cited by the UN.
While Israel disputes those figures, international agencies say the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, with famine confirmed in parts of Gaza City in August.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper quoted senior security sources on Wednesday as saying there was a “high likelihood for progress” and that a deal could be reached “within days.”
Trump has pledged that the US will “do everything possible to ensure all sides adhere to the agreement” once it is finalized.
