 "Trump says Hamas has 'agreed to things' during indirect talks with Israel on Gaza ceasefire")
US President Donald Trump has said that Hamas has made significant concessions during indirect negotiations with Israel in Egypt over his Gaza peace plan.
Talking to CNN, the president said, “I think Hamas has been agreeing to things that are very important.” When asked whether the US has pressed on any conditions, like on its demand of disarming Hamas, Trump replied, “Well, if certain things aren’t met? We’re not going to do it, but I think we’re doing very well.”
Israel and Hamas began indirect talks of a Gaza ceasefire on the eve of the second anniversary of the war that has killed thousands of Palestinians. Al-Qahera News, which is linked to Egyptian state intelligence, said the first round of talks ended “amid a positive atmosphere” and would continue on Tuesday.
‘Negotiations will be complex’
Hamas’s lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who survived Israel’s attack on the Palestinian Islamist movement’s leaders in Doha last month, held a meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials ahead of the talks, an Egyptian security source said.
This round of negotiations, launched on the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war, “may last for several days”, said a Palestinian source close to Hamas’s leadership.
“We expect the negotiations to be difficult and complex, given the occupation’s intentions to continue its war of extermination,” he told AFP.
‘Not true’
Trump also dismissed an _Axios_ report that quoted a White House insider as saying that the president confronted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tense phone call over the US-brokered Gaza peace proposal. According to a report by Axios, Trump expressed frustration over Netanyahu’s cautious approach to the matter.
“No, it’s not true. He’s been very positive. He’s been very positive on the deal. But this is a deal that, incredibly, everyone just came together. They all came together. No, Israel’s been great. They’ve all been good,” Trump told CNN.
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