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News Agency

Indirect talks focused on achieving a comprehensive deal on a Trump administration initiative to stop the conflict in Gaza have started in the Red Sea resort of the Egyptian resort town.

Palestinian and Egyptian officials have reported that the sessions are concentrating on "establishing the groundwork" for a anticipated transfer that would result in the release of all detained individuals in return for a group of incarcerated individuals.

Hamas has said it agrees to the ceasefire initiative in part, but has failed to address several key demands - such as its weapons surrender and governance position in Gaza.

Israel's prime minister said on the weekend that he expected to reveal the freeing of captives "soon"

Background Context

The negotiations, which will involve Egyptian and Qatari officials facilitating discussions with delegations from both Israel and Hamas in isolation, occur on the verge of the second anniversary of the military operation on border communities on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were lost their lives and 251 others were seized.

The armed forces launched a campaign in Gaza in response. Since then, 67,160 have been fatally injured by defense force actions in Gaza, according to the region's local health authorities.

Proposal Framework

The 20-point plan, which has been approved by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, outlines an prompt cessation to fighting and the release of 48 captives, only 20 individuals are believed to be alive, in exchange for multiple hundreds of incarcerated individuals.

The plan stipulates that once both sides agree to the plan "full aid will be quickly dispatched into the Gaza Strip"

It also declares that the militant group would have no role in political leadership, and it allows for an eventual Palestinian state.

Current Situation

In the latest development, the group answered to the proposal in a declaration, in which the group consented "to release all detainees, both living and dead, in accordance with the swap arrangement contained in President Trump's proposal" - if the required situation for the swaps are satisfied.

It failed to address or endorse the comprehensive proposal but said it "restates its approval to transfer the governance of the conflict zone to a governing council of professionals, based on regional unity and regional endorsement"

The declaration failed to address of one of the key demands of the initiative – that the militant group consent to its military demobilization and to having no future involvement in the governance of Gaza.

International Response

Many Palestinians characterized the group's reaction to the negotiation initiative as unexpected, after days of indications that the faction was likely to refuse or at least heavily condition its approval of Trump's peace plan proposal.

Conversely, Hamas excluded its customary boundaries in the official statement, a move many consider a evidence of international influence.

Global and local leaders have supported the initiative. The governing body, which controls parts of the Palestinian territories, has called the Trump administration actions as "sincere and determined"

Iran - which has been one of the organization's key backers for decades - has also recently indicated its support for the American initiative.

Current Situation

Military strikes carried on in various locations of the Gaza Strip on Monday before the discussions commencing.

Defense personnel is carrying out an offensive in the metropolitan region, which it has said is aimed at securing the freeing of the remaining hostages.

A spokesperson, speaking for the territory's civil protection agency, reported that "no aid trucks have been authorized access for Gaza City since the offensive began four weeks ago"

"Remains persist we cannot retrieve from locations under military occupation" he said.

Hundreds of thousands of the metropolitan area have been required to leave after the defense forces mandated relocations to a specified safe zone in the lower territory, but additional numerous individuals are considered to have persisted.

The defense representative has admonished that those who remain during the offensive would be "militants and their backers"

In the recent period, 21 residents have been lost their lives in Gaza and a additional 96 wounded, the local medical authorities said in its most recent report.

International journalists have been restricted by the government from accessing the Palestinian territory independently since the start of the war, making confirming reports from the conflicting groups problematic.