People run for cover during an Israeli airstrike on a high-rise building in Gaza City, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, after the Israeli army issued a warning. (AP Photo/Yousef Al Zanoun)
Delegations from Hamas, Israel and the United States are due to convene in Egypt for talks on Monday, with U.S. President Donald Trump calling on negotiators to "move fast" to end the nearly two-year war in the Gaza Strip.
Both Hamas and Israel have responded positively to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal for an end to the fighting and the release of captives in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Trump's plan envisages the disarmament of Hamas, which the militant group is unlikely to accept, as well as the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas's lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who was targeted with other leaders from the group in Israeli strikes in Doha last month, was to meet with mediators from Egypt and Qatar in Cairo Oct. 6 morning, a senior official from the group told media.
Negotiations will look to "determine the date of a temporary truce,” the official said, as well as create conditions for a first phase of the plan, in which 47 hostages held in Gaza are to be released in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
According to Arab media reports, Hamas has started retrieving the bodies of deceased hostages. The source said Hamas obtained U.S. assurances, conveyed through Qatar, for a “permanent” Israeli withdrawal.
The official also claimed that Hamas agreed in principle to transfer its weapons to a “Palestinian-Egyptian authority” under international oversight and notified Washington of the decision.
He added that whether Hamas leaders leave the Gaza Strip “depends on their own choice.” The source also alleged that Washington provided “guarantees ensuring the safety of Hamas leaders.”
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks on Gaza on Oct. 6 continued unabated, with at least seven Palestinians, including aid seekers, killed since dawn.
Israeli forces launch deadly attacks on Gaza, the latest hitting near the al-Rum School in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City.
Posting on his Truth Social platform on Oct. 5, Trump praised "positive discussions with Hamas" and allies around the world including Arab and Muslim nations.
"I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST," he wrote.
On Oct. 6, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi praised Trump's plan saying it offered "the right path to lasting peace and stability.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has expressed hope that the hostages could be released within days, said his government's delegation would be departing for Egypt for the talks.
The White House said Trump had also sent two envoys to Egypt, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East negotiator Steve Witkoff.
