Palestinian Hamas and Israeli officials start indirect discussions in the Egyptian city on American Palestinian peace plan.

News Agency

Third-party negotiations focused on achieving a comprehensive deal on a American ceasefire proposal to halt hostilities in Gaza have begun in the Red Sea resort of the negotiation site.

Middle Eastern and regional officials have indicated that the meetings are concentrating on "preparing the environment" for a possible exchange that would involve the liberation of all captured Israelis in compensation of a group of detained Palestinians.

Hamas has said it agrees to the ceasefire initiative partially, but has omitted reference to several crucial requirements - particularly its disarmament and political participation in Gaza.

The government official said on recently that he expected to reveal the liberation of hostages "soon"

Conflict Timeline

The negotiations, which will involve Egyptian and Qatari officials holding shuttle meetings with delegations from both the conflicting parties separately, take place on the approach of the two-year mark of the Hamas-led attack on border communities on the initial attack date, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were captured.

The armed forces initiated operations in Gaza in response. Following the initial attack, approximately 67,160 have been fatally injured by defense force actions in Gaza, based on data from the region's local health authorities.

Initiative Components

The detailed initiative, which has been endorsed by the Trump administration and Israeli officials, proposes an prompt cessation to combat and the release of 48 hostages, only a portion are considered surviving, in exchange for hundreds of detained Gazans.

The proposal specifies that once the two parties agree to the initiative "full aid will be quickly dispatched into the Palestinian territory"

It also specifies that the organization would have no participation in administering the territory, and it leaves the door open an eventual Palestinian state.

Recent Developments

In the latest development, the group answered to the proposal in a statement, in which the group consented "to liberate all detainees, both living and dead, according to the swap arrangement specified by President Trump's proposal" - if the required situation for the swaps are satisfied.

It failed to address or approve Trump's 20-point plan but said it "reaffirms its commitment to transfer the administration of the conflict zone to a governing council of independents, based on Palestinian national consensus and international backing"

The statement made no mention of one of the key demands of the initiative – that Hamas accept its weapons surrender and to playing no further role in the administration of Gaza.

International Response

Local residents portrayed the group's reaction to the ceasefire proposal as surprising, after an extended period of suggestions that the group was likely to refuse or at least heavily condition its acceptance of Trump's peace plan proposal.

Instead, Hamas omitted its established limits in the formal declaration, a move many view as a sign of international influence.

International and regional officials have welcomed the plan. The Palestinian Authority, which administers areas of the disputed regions, has characterized the Trump administration actions as "genuine and committed"

The Persian nation - which has been one of Hamas's main sponsors for an extended period - has also recently indicated its endorsement of the American initiative.

Ongoing Reality

Military strikes carried on in several parts of the Gaza Strip on recently prior to the negotiations starting.

Israel is conducting an combat campaign in the urban area, which it has declared is aimed at securing the release of the outstanding captives.

An official representative, speaking for the territory's Hamas-run civil defence, reported that "assistance vehicles have been permitted entry to the urban center since the military operations started four weeks ago"

"Remains persist we are unable to recover from zones under defense force authority" he commented.

Hundreds of thousands of the metropolitan area have been forced to flee after the armed services required departures to a designated "humanitarian area" in the southern region, but hundreds of thousands more are thought to have stayed.

Israel's defence minister has admonished that those who remain during the military operation would be "militants and their backers"

In the recent period, 21 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and a additional 96 wounded, the Hamas-run health ministry said in its latest update.

International journalists have been banned by Israel from entering the Palestinian territory independently since the start of the war, making confirming reports from all parties difficult.