🔗 Share this article Israel and Hamas begin mediated negotiations in Egypt on American Palestinian ceasefire initiative. News Agency Military operations persist in military actions in the northern Gaza Strip for multiple weeks. Third-party negotiations working toward a final agreement on a Trump administration initiative to stop the conflict in Gaza have started in the Red Sea resort of the negotiation site. Local and international officials have stated that the meetings are centered around "establishing the groundwork" for a potential swap that would see the freeing of all detained individuals in exchange for a group of detained Palestinians. Hamas has said it agrees to the negotiation framework partially, but has omitted reference to several essential conditions - particularly its weapons surrender and political participation in Gaza. Israel's prime minister said on recently that he hoped to announce the liberation of captives "soon" Conflict Timeline The discussions, which will feature Middle Eastern officials facilitating discussions with delegations from both the two sides individually, come on the eve of the two-year mark of the Hamas-led attack on border communities on 7 October 2023, in which nearly 1,200 people were fatally wounded and 251 others were seized. The armed forces launched a campaign in Gaza in countermeasure. From that point, 67,160 have been killed by Israeli military operations in Gaza, based on data from the region's local health authorities. Proposal Framework The comprehensive proposal, which has been endorsed by the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggests an prompt cessation to combat and the release of 48 hostages, only a portion are thought to be surviving, in return for hundreds of incarcerated individuals. The framework requires that once all involved accept the initiative "full aid will be quickly dispatched into the Gaza Strip" It also specifies that Hamas would have no role in political leadership, and it leaves the door open an eventual Palestinian state. Recent Developments In the latest development, Hamas responded to the plan in a announcement, in which the group approved "to release all Israeli prisoners, both alive and killed, in accordance with the transfer mechanism outlined in the US initiative" - if the required situation for the swaps are met. It failed to address or approve the comprehensive proposal but said it "renews its agreement to transfer the governance of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of professionals, based on local agreement and international backing" The statement omitted reference of one of the crucial requirements of the initiative – that the organization agree to its military demobilization and to having no future involvement in the administration of Gaza. International Response Gaza inhabitants described the group's reaction to the negotiation initiative as unanticipated, after days of indications that the organization was likely to refuse or at least significantly qualify its acceptance of the American initiative. Instead, the organization refrained from including its customary boundaries in the public announcement, a move many view as a sign of outside forces. European and Middle Eastern leaders have endorsed the proposal. The governing body, which controls parts of the Palestinian territories, has called the Trump administration actions as "genuine and committed" The Islamic Republic - which has been one of the group's primary supporters for an extended period - has also now signalled its backing of the US proposal. Present Conditions Military strikes persisted in several parts of the Gaza Strip on recently prior to the discussions commencing. Israeli forces is implementing an offensive in the metropolitan region, which it has stated is intended to securing the liberation of the still-detained individuals. Mahmoud Basal, speaking for the region's local emergency services, reported that "humanitarian convoys have been permitted entry to the urban center since the campaign commenced recently" "Victims remain we cannot access from areas under Israeli control" he commented. Numerous individuals of Gaza City have been compelled to evacuate after the armed services mandated relocations to a established protection region in the lower territory, but further countless people are believed to have remained. The defense representative has admonished that those who persist during the military operation would be "militants and their backers" In the last 24 hours, 21 residents have been killed in Gaza and a another 96 injured, the regional health administration said in its current assessment. Foreign correspondents have been restricted by Israeli authorities from accessing the Palestinian territory without supervision since the commencement of the conflict, making authenticating statements from both sides problematic.