Hamas serious about Gaza deal, but Israeli withdrawal remains sticking point

Hamas said on Tuesday it wants to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza based on US President Donald Trump’s plan but still has a set of demands, signalling that indirect talks with Israel in Egypt could be difficult and lengthy.

Trump, however, expressed optimism on Tuesday about progress toward a Gaza deal and said a U.S. team had just left to take part in the negotiations.

“I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East beyond just Gaza,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum outlined Hamas’ position on the second anniversary of the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, and one day after the indirect negotiations began in Sharm el-Sheikh.

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The talks appear the most promising yet for ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Officials on all sides, however, urged caution over the prospects for a rapid agreement, as Israelis remembered the bloodiest single day for Jews since the Holocaust and Gazans voiced hope for an end to two years of war.

Hamas sets out conditions

“The (Hamas) movement’s delegation participating in the current negotiations in Egypt is working to overcome all obstacles to reaching an agreement that meets the aspirations of our people in Gaza,” Barhoum said in a televised statement.

He said a deal must ensure an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip – conditions that Israel has never accepted. Israel wants Hamas to disarm, something the group rejects.

Hamas wants a permanent, comprehensive ceasefire, a complete pullout of Israeli forces and the start of reconstruction under a Palestinian “national technocratic body,” he said.

Underlining the challenges ahead, an umbrella of Palestinian factions including Hamas vowed a “resistance stance by all means” and said “no one has the right to cede the weapons of the Palestinian people.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the talks.

US officials have suggested they want to first focus on a halt to fighting and the logistics of freeing hostages and Palestinian prisoners. But Qatar, one of the mediators, said many details had yet to be resolved, indicating that any deal was not imminent.

No ceasefire after two years of war

In the absence of a ceasefire, Israel has pressed on with its offensive in Gaza, increasing its international isolation. Opponents of Israel’s actions held protests in Sydney and several European cities on the anniversary of Hamas’ attack, despite politicians’ warnings that such marches risk glorifying violence.

Hopes of a breakthrough by civilians on both sides

On the anniversary, some Israelis visited the sites hardest hit that day. Orit Baron stood at the Nova music festival site in southern Israel beside a photo of her daughter Yuval, who was killed with her fiancé Moshe Shuva.

“They were supposed to get married on February 14, Valentine’s Day,” Baron said. “They are buried next to each other because they were never separated.”

Israelis hope the talks will lead to the release of the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

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“It’s like an open wound, the hostages. I can’t believe it’s been two years and they are still not home,” said Hilda Weisthal, 43.

In Gaza, 49-year-old Mohammed Dib hoped for an end to a conflict that has caused a humanitarian disaster, displaced many multiple times and killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

“It’s been two years that we are living in fear, horror, displacement and destruction,” he said.

Residents of Khan Younis and Gaza City reported new Israeli strikes early Tuesday. The Israeli military said militants fired rockets into Israel, setting off sirens at the kibbutz Netiv Haasara, and that Israeli troops continued to fight gunmen inside Gaza.

Israel and Hamas have endorsed the overall principles behind Trump’s plan, under which fighting would cease, hostages would be freed and aid would flow into Gaza. The plan has Arab and Western backing.

But an official involved in the ceasefire planning and a Palestinian source said Trump’s 72-hour deadline for hostages’ return may be unrealistic, as remains of dead hostages may need to be recovered.

Even if a deal is reached, questions remain over who will govern Gaza and pay for its reconstruction. Trump and Netanyahu have ruled out any role for Hamas.