Negotiators gather for Gaza talks, but quick deal unlikely

Contentious details remain to be ironed out to reach a comprehensive agreement

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Officials from Israel and Hamas were in an Egyptian resort on Oct 6 to launch talks that the US hopes will bring a halt to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages, despite contentious issues like a disarmament of the Palestinian militant group.

The negotiations on US President Donald Trump’s plan were set to begin on the eve of the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war, when fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and left the majority of 2.2 million Gazans homeless and hungry in the rubble of the enclave destroyed by relentless bombardment.

Two Israeli sources said the Israeli negotiators had arrived in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the talks, focused on freeing the hostages, part of Mr Trump’s 20-point blueprint for ending the two-year-old conflict. Hamas officials had already arrived earlier in the day.

“If there is a deal, then we survive. If there isn’t, it is like we have been sentenced to death,” said Ms Gharam Mohammad, 20, displaced along with her family in central Gaza.

An official briefed on the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he expected the round of talks kicking off on Oct 6 would not be quick, lasting at least a few days.

Prompt agreement is unlikely as the goal is to clinch a comprehensive deal with all details worked out before the ceasefire can begin to be implemented, the official said.