Hamas demands concessions as Gaza ceasefire talks face difficult path in Egypt

Hamas said on Tuesday it wants to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza based on US President Trump's plan but still has a set of demands, a statement 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 US 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 set out 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, Egypt.

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 were taken back to Gaza as hostages.

But officials on all sides 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 the suffering brought by two years of war.

"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, for its part wants Hamas to disarm, something the group rejects. 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", he said.

Underlining the obstacles lying ahead at talks, an umbrella of Palestinian factions including Hamas issued a statement vowing a "resistance stance by all means" and saying "no one has the right to cede the weapons of the Palestinian people".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the status of the talks. US officials have suggested they want to initially focus talks on a halt to the fighting and the logistics of how the hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel would be freed.

But Qatar, one of the mediators, said many details had to be worked out, indicating that any agreement was not imminent. In the absence of a ceasefire, Israel has pressed on with its offensive in Gaza, increasing its international isolation. Reuters