Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israeli delegations have begun in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to end the war in Gaza based on Donald Trump's plan. The Palestinian Islamist movement expects difficult discussions, although the first day on Monday ended in a "positive atmosphere," according to an Egyptian media outlet.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to free the hostages and end the two-year war in Gaza began in Egypt on Monday, October 6 , but the Palestinian Islamist movement expects difficult negotiations, according to a source close to the discussions.

The first round of talks between Hamas and mediators concluded in Sharm el-Sheikh in a "positive atmosphere," Egyptian state TV Al-Qahera News reported Tuesday morning, adding that they were expected to continue during the day.

Egyptian and Qatari mediators are "working with both parties to establish a mechanism" for the release of all hostages in exchange for prisoners, the media outlet reported earlier.

The talks are based on US President Donald Trump 's 20-point plan to end the fighting and free Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

"I think it's going very well, and I think Hamas has agreed to some very important things," the US president said Monday. "We're going to have an agreement on Gaza, I'm pretty sure of that," he added.

The negotiations began on the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war.

"We expect difficult and complex negotiations" given that Israel "continues its war of extermination," a source close to the negotiations told AFP, estimating that they would take "several days."

"I ask everyone to move forward quickly."

"I'm asking everyone to move quickly," Donald Trump said after dispatching his envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to Egypt .

According to sources close to the negotiations, the Israeli and Hamas delegations are expected to participate in these indirect talks in the same building, but in different rooms, with the mediators traveling between the two. This comes less than a month after Israel attempted to assassinate Hamas negotiators in an unprecedented attack targeting a meeting of the movement in Qatar .

The Hamas team in Egypt is led by Khalil al-Hayya, who escaped the strike in which his son was killed.

According to a senior Hamas official, the Hamas delegation was due to hold talks in Cairo on Monday morning with Egyptian and Qatari mediators before the start of negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh .

These "will focus on the terms of the ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces (from Gaza) and the exchange" of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, he told AFP. On Sunday, Hamas expressed its willingness "to immediately begin the exchange process."

According to a source close to the matter, he called for "the cessation of all Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip," adding that he would "end his military operations" at the same time.

Announced on September 29, the American president's plan provides for a ceasefire, the release within 72 hours of the hostages held in Gaza, the phased withdrawal of the Israeli army and the disarmament of Hamas.

Vague response from Hamas

In its response to the Trump plan, Hamas said Friday it was ready to release all hostages "in order to achieve an end to the war and ensure a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza." But it did not mention the issue of its disarmament, a key point of the plan, further stating that it intended to participate in discussions on the future of Gaza, while the American proposal excludes any role for Hamas "in the governance of Gaza."

An ally of the US president, Benjamin Netanyahu, has affirmed his support for the Trump plan, while specifying that his army will remain in most of the Gaza Strip, which it controls about 75% of. He also reaffirmed the need to disarm Hamas.

If the negotiations fail, "we will resume the fight," warned Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on Sunday.

Efforts by mediators have so far failed to achieve a lasting ceasefire. Two previous truces, in November 2023 and early 2025, allowed for the return of hostages or captives' bodies in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, who coordinated the previous exchanges, said Monday that her teams were ready "to help bring the hostages and detainees back to their families."

In the Gaza Strip, the Civil Defense reported strikes on Monday, including in Gaza City (north) and Khan Younis (south), where two Palestinians were killed. "Artillery and drone fire continued throughout the night east of Gaza City," according to the relief organization operating under the authority of Hamas.

AFP footage showed several explosions in the Gaza Strip this morning, sending plumes of smoke rising.