Al Jazeera reports that meetings between mediators and the Palestinian delegation have just concluded, with mediators now meeting the Israeli delegation to obtain final answers on unresolved issues.
According to the source, progress has been made on the exchange lists and on guarantees to prevent a return to war after the release of Israeli captives. Hamas has agreed to release all the captives, while the return of bodies will be postponed until field conditions allow.
The source added that mediators have asked both the Palestinian and Israeli delegations to consider Friday as the final deadline for the current round of negotiations.
The mediators informed the Palestinian delegation that if an agreement is reached, U.S. President Donald Trump will officially announce the end of the war.
This is not the first time that Hamas political representatives have agreed to release all Israelis being held captive in Gaza – on four previous occasions during the past two years, Palestinian negotiators have agreed to all terms of ceasefire agreements presented to them, only to have the Israeli negotiation team reject the agreements and continue the relentless bombardment and destruction of Gaza.
According to Axios, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend the Paris meeting of foreign ministers on Gaza’s postwar arrangements, reportedly at Israel’s request. An Israeli official told the outlet that Tel Aviv asked President Trump’s administration to avoid participating, arguing that the meeting could “distract from Trump’s plan and undermine the ongoing negotiations.”
A White House official confirmed “good progress,” suggesting that a deal could be possible within the next few days.
Since Monday evening, the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh has hosted indirect talks between Hamas and Israel aimed at implementing President Trump’s plan to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Analyst Ramzy Baroud warns in A History of Deception: US-Israeli Pacts and the Gaza Proposal, in the Palestine Chronicle, that, “Any naive hope that the Trump administration might restrain Israel proved unfounded. Both the Democratic administration of Joe Biden and the Republican administration of his successor have been enthusiastic partners in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s messianic mission. The difference has been primarily rhetorical.”
