Negotiators gather for Gaza talks, mediators caution deal may not be swift

6/10/2025 18:56

Hamas officials were in Egypt on Monday ahead of talks with Israel that the U.S. hopes will bring a halt to war in Gaza and release of hostages despite contentious issues like disarmament of the Palestinian militant group under Donald Trump's plan.



Talks were set to begin as the war reaches its two-year mark with the majority of 2.2 million Gazans homeless and hungry in a sea of rubble after Israeli strikes that have killed over 67,000 Palestinians, mainly civilians, Gaza health officials say.



Israeli negotiators were due to travel to Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh later in the day for talks focused on freeing hostages, part of the U.S. president's 20-point blueprint for ending the two-year-old conflict.



A Palestinian official close to the talks was sceptical about prospects of a breakthrough given deep mutual mistrust, saying Hamas and other Palestinian factions worried that Israel might ditch negotiations once it recovered the hostages.