Israel-Hamas talks set to start in Egypt raise hopes of ceasefire and prisoner swap

Israel and Hamas were poised to conduct indirect peace talks Monday, with hopes it could represent the best chance yet to end the two-year war and free the remaining hostages from Gaza.

On the anniversary eve of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack, and subsequent military operation by Israel, representatives from all sides were due in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss a 20-point peace plan tabled by President Donald Trump to halt the conflict.

Hamas’ delegation is being led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya, whom Israel tried to assassinate with a strike on Qatar last month.

Al-Hayya, whom Israeli President Isaac Herzog described as a “murderous terrorist” in the wake of the Qatar strike, arrived in Egypt early Monday, Hamas said in a statement.

Israel’s delegation will be led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who is set to leave for Egypt on Monday, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office Sunday.

The two sides have agreed on parts of Trump’s proposal.

Helping to hammer out the deal’s remaining sticking points will be U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who were also traveling to Egypt, a senior White House official told NBC News on Saturday.

Trump called the talks “very successful, and proceeding rapidly,” and said Monday’s meetings was just a case of technical teams clarifying “final details.” He wrote in a social media post that “the first phase should be completed this week.”

On Monday, the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters, a group that coordinates efforts for those still held in Gaza, sent an “urgent letter” to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, “strongly urging” the body to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the American president this week “for his unprecedented contributions to global peace.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was cooler, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that finding a resolution would take “some time” and that “there’s some work that remains to be done.”

It came as Israel said it deported 171 activists, including the campaigner Greta Thunberg, who sailed toward Gaza on an aid flotilla. The detainees, whose vessels were boarded by Israeli military personnel, were deported to Greece and Slovakia, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The first phase of the talks will deal with the release of the remaining 48 hostages, some 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

The plan also calls for the end of fighting and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Hamas agreed to some of this proposal on Friday, while sidestepping Trump’s call for it to disband and disarm.

On Sunday, Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi denied as baseless reports in Arab media that the group had agreed to lay down its weapons.

Israel says it agrees with the plan, buoying the yearslong, impassioned domestic campaign by families and supporters of the hostages to cease fighting so they can be brought home.

Ohad Ben Ami, 56, was released in February, having been kidnapped from kibbutz Be’eri, in southern Israel, and held captive for 491 days. On Sunday, he showed NBC News the place where he was taken on Oct. 7.

“When we were down there” in the deep Gaza tunnel where he was held, he said he was told “many times there was a deal in the air,” he said. “We were very happy and on a high, then they say, ‘no it’s collapsed’ and we were very depressed.”

Still, Netanyahu faces pressure from his own government over negotiations. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on X that stopping attacks on Gaza would be a “grave mistake.”

In Gaza, many Palestinians are desperate for an end to the bombardment that has killed more than 67,000 people, most of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Some 78% of buildings have either been damaged or destroyed.

The prospect of an agreement has not stopped the Israeli attacks. Gaza’s Hamas-run Government Media Office said Sunday that Israel had carried out 131 airstrikes on Gaza over the past 48 hours, killing 94 Palestinians.

Israel launched the offensive after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, in which some 1,200 were killed and another 250 kidnapped.

Though freeing the hostages would be a “significant achievement and a fulfillment of a principal war objective,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned his troops to be ready.

“The operation is not over; we must remain alert and ready for combat at all times,” he said in a statement Sunday. “If the political effort does not succeed, we will return to fight.”