What happened on the first day of talks between Israel and Hamas in Egypt

The first day of renewed indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Egypt has ended on a high note. Sources told Al Jazeera and other media outlets that there is hope of reaching an agreement on US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. Negotiators will meet again on Tuesday.

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Sources told Al Jazeera Arabic that the meeting, which took place in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, was positive and outlined the next steps in the ongoing talks. Hamas told the mediators that Israel's continued bombardment of Gaza was making prisoner release talks difficult, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

 
Today marks two years since Hamas launched an attack on Israel and the Israeli military launched a response in Gaza. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,139 people. Nearly 200 people were taken hostage. The Hamas delegation to the talks included two leaders of the organization, Khalil al-Haya and Zaher Jabarin. The two negotiators survived an Israeli attack in Doha last month, which killed five people. The Egyptian media outlet Al-Qahira News reported that the first day of talks focused on prisoner exchanges, a ceasefire, and humanitarian aid to Gaza.

White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt said Trump wants to quickly complete the process of exchanging Israeli and Palestinian prisoners. Through this, he wants to accelerate the implementation of other parts of his plan to end the war in Gaza. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office yesterday afternoon, "We have a good chance of making a deal." However, he said there are still some limitations. The US president added, "But I think we're doing well. Hamas has agreed to some things that are very important."