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.
Senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum set out Hamas's 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.
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.
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, for its part wants Hamas to disarm, something the group rejects.
Hamas wants a permanent, comprehensive ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza 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 "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 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
US officials have suggested they want to initially focus talks on a halt to the fighting and the logistics of how the hostages and political prisoners would be released. But Qatar, one of the mediators, said many details had to be worked out, indicating there was unlikely to be an imminent agreement.
In the absence of a ceasefire, Israel has pressed on with its offensive in Gaza, increasing its international isolation and prompting pro-Palestinian protests abroad which were set to continue on Tuesday.
