Hamas wants ‘guarantees’ Israel will end Gaza war as talks on day 2 wrap up

Speaking at the White House on the second anniversary of the start of the war, Trump said that there was a “real chance” of a Gaza deal, as Tuesday’s talks wrapped up in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Senior Qatari and US officials are headed to Egypt to join the talks that are set to continue on Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, an umbrella of Palestinian factions – including Hamas – issued a statement promising “resistance stance by all means”, stressing that “no one has the right to cede the weapons of the Palestinian people” – an apparent reference to a key demand for the disarmament of the armed group contained in Trump’s plan.

Senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said that the group’s negotiators were seeking an end to the war and “complete withdrawal of the occupation army” from Gaza. But Trump’s plan is vague regarding the exit of Israeli troops, offering no specific timeline for the staged rollout, which would only happen after Hamas returns the 48 Israeli captives it still holds, 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

A senior Hamas official who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity after Tuesday’s talks indicated that the group intends to release captives in stages linked to the withdrawal of Israel’s military from Gaza.

The official said that Tuesday’s talks had focused on scheduling the release of Israeli captives and withdrawal maps for Israeli forces, with the group stressing that the release of the last Israeli hostage must coincide with the final withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Hamas’s top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said the group did “not trust the occupation, not even for a second”, according to Egyptian state-linked Al Qahera News. He said Hamas wanted “real guarantees” that the war would end and not be restarted, accusing Israel of violating two previous ceasefires in the war on Gaza.

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