Efforts to broker a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas have gained new momentum with the arrival of US special envoy Steve Witkoff and former White House adviser Jared Kushner in Cairo for talks on Wednesday, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the negotiations.
Their participation comes as indirect peace talks entered a second day without a breakthrough, amid sharp divisions over Israel’s proposed troop withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas’s demand for guarantees against renewed fighting once a deal is signed.
Speaking during a commemorative event marking the second anniversary of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, former US President Donald Trump struck an optimistic tone, saying there was “a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, called this a period of “fateful days of decision,” vowing to continue efforts to free hostages, eliminate Hamas, and ensure Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.
Joining the talks alongside Kushner and Witkoff are Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, a key mediator, and the head of Turkish intelligence, both seeking to push forward a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement.
A senior Palestinian negotiator told the BBC that discussions remain “tough” with “no tangible progress yet,” but emphasized that mediators are working to bridge gaps. The negotiations are centred on five key issues:
- A permanent ceasefire;
- Hostage-prisoner exchanges;
- Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza;
- Humanitarian aid access; and
- Post-war governance of the territory.
Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya told Egypt’s Al Qahera News that the group came “ready for serious and responsible negotiations” but needs “real guarantees” from Trump and the international community that hostilities will end permanently.
UN Secretary General António Guterres urged all sides to seize what he described as a “historic opportunity” to end the war, echoing public sentiment in Israel, where polls show 70% of citizens now support ending the conflict in exchange for the release of hostages.
The war, triggered by Hamas’s 2023 attack that killed about 1,200 Israelis, has since claimed more than 67,000 Palestinian lives, including over 20,000 children, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures verified by the United Nations.
Despite ongoing tensions and international scrutiny over humanitarian conditions in Gaza, negotiators in Cairo are cautiously hopeful that this latest round of talks — with Trump’s envoys now at the table — could mark a turning point in one of the most protracted conflicts in modern history.
