Muted welcome from both sides for Trump's Gaza deal

One of the main sticking points between Israel and Hamas is whether a ceasefire would be permanent, writes Bel Trew

- Bel Trew

Senior officials briefed on truce talks for Gaza said they were “cautiously optimistic” that a new initiative announced by Donald Trump could pave the way to a long-term ceasefire deal, and the end of the devastating 21-month war.

President Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the “necessary conditions to finalise” a 60-day truce to allow negotiations “to end the war” and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsened.

The US president has been piling pressure on both sides to broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, promising that a deal could come together as soon as next week.

One of the main sticking points has been whether the agreement would lay the groundwork for ending the ruinous war permanently. Israel has said it won’t accept a deal until Hamas is defeated, while Hamas has said it would never agree to temporary truce terms.

Despite this, senior officials briefed on the talks between Ron Dermer, a senior aide to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Mr Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, described a mood of “cautious optimism”. That is because among the points approved by the Israeli side was that a ceasefire deal would contain US and mediator guarantees that discussions to end the war completely would take place.

The Independent understands that the current 60-day structure on the table would lead to the release of 10 living captives and 15 bodies of those killed in Gaza. In exchange, there would be a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from some areas of Gaza, more aid would be allowed in, and talks would begin for a permanent ceasefire.

Progress has already begun. A Hamas delegation was expected to meet Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo yesterday to discuss the proposal.