Hamas said on Wednesday (8 October) it had exchanged a list of the names of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released under a swap deal and that it was optimistic about talks in Egypt on U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.
Negotiations are focused on the mechanisms to halt the conflict, withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the swap deal, the group added.
The timing of the implementation of the first phase of President Donald Trump's 20-point initiative has not been agreed so far during talks in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, said a Palestinian source close to the negotiations.
President Trump, however, expressed optimism about progress toward a deal on Tuesday, the second anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel that triggered Israel's assault on Gaza.
A U.S. team including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law who served as Middle East envoy during Trump's first term, will take part in the talks over a plan that has come closest to silencing the guns.
But officials on all sides urged caution over the prospects for a rapid agreement.
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's close confidant - was due to join the talks on Wednesday afternoon, according to an Israeli official.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, a key mediator, and Turkish spymaster Ibrahim Kalin, will also take part in the ceasefire negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the matter.
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".
Israel wants Hamas to disarm, which the group rejects.
U.S. officials suggest they want to initially focus talks on a halt to the fighting and the logistics of how the Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees in Israel would be freed.
In the absence of a ceasefire, Israel has pressed on with its offensive in Gaza, increasing its international isolation.
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Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, leaving one person dead and more than 500 injured as strong winds and torrential rain brought down trees, cut power and disrupted transport across the island.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday described a deadly shooting in the towns of Trappes and La Verrière, west of Paris, as a racist attack and ‘a turning point’ for the country.
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Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday demanding an independent commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack, three days before a national election.
Saudi Arabia religious leaders have condemned attacks targeting holy sites and civilians after authorities reported intercepting two ballistic missiles launched towards the Mecca and Medina regions, while Yemen’s Houthi movement denied targeting the two cities.
Uzbekistan summoned Iran’s ambassador following claims by several Iranian diplomatic missions that the historical and architectural heritage of Samarkand belongs to Persian or Iranian-Islamic civilisation, Tashkent's Foreign Ministry said.
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