Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday said that he had invited US President Donald Trump to attend the signing ceremony if a peace deal for Gaza is achieved. Egypt, a key member of the Arab countries involved in the efforts to end the conflict in Gaza, is hosting the ongoing negotiations according to the Trump peace plan.
“It would be truly wonderful if, should an agreement be reached, you could attend its signing,” Sisi said, while addressing Trump.
Gaza peace talks in Egypt
The peace plan talks in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh entered its third day on Wednesday. According to Sisi, the talks were encouraging and progressing positively.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, along with Israeli, Hamas, and a Palestinian Islamic Jihad delegation, are attending the peace talks in Egypt.
On Tuesday, a senior US official had told Israeli media that Witkoff and Kushner would not leave Egypt without an agreement in hand.
Hamas seeks guarantees
Hamas said it’s seeking firm guarantees from Trump and mediators that Israel won’t resume its military campaign in the Palestinian territory after the militant group releases all the remaining hostages.
While all sides have expressed optimism for a deal to end the two-year war, some key differences remain. This includes a requirement that Hamas disarm, the timing and extent of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and the creation of an international body to run the territory after Hamas steps down.
On Wednesday, a senior Hamas official, Taher Nounou, said the group has provided a list of Palestinian prisoners it wants released from Israel in return for hostages in Gaza as part of the deal.
Trump’s 20-point peace plan
Trump’s 20-point peace plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and release of the 48 hostages that Hamas still holds from their surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Around 20 of the hostages are believed to still be alive.
The peace plan also calls for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza after Hamas disarms, and an international security force moving in. The territory would be placed under international governance, with Trump and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair overseeing it.
Hamas wants lasting ceasefire
In a statement Tuesday, Hamas reiterated its longstanding demands for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but said nothing about disarmament, a step it has long resisted. Hamas has also spoken against the idea of international rule, though it has agreed it will have no role in governing post-war Gaza.
Speaking in Sharm el-Sheikh, Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ top negotiator, told Egypt’s Qahera TV that the group wanted solid guarantees from Trump and mediators that the war “will not return.”
Netanyahu cautiously optimistic
Netanyahu’s office said Tuesday that Israel was “cautiously optimistic,” framing the talks as technical negotiations over a plan that both sides already had approved.
Meanwhile, Israeli media on Wednesday reported that the country is preparing for a possible Trump visit if an agreement is reached on a hostage release deal and the end of the war in Gaza.
