US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said there was a “real chance” of a Gaza peace deal, as indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israeli representatives resumed in Egypt on the second anniversary of the October 7 attack that triggered the ongoing war.“There’s a real chance that we could do something,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, seated alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. He confirmed that US negotiators were actively participating in the discussions, part of renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire and resolve the broader conflict in Gaza. “We are very close to making a deal on the Middle East that will bring peace to the Middle East,” Trump added, as quoted by new agency AFP.Trump went on to emphasise the negotiations were in “serious” stage, and suggested there could be a peace in the long-standing conflict, which could extend “beyond Gaza”.“Talking about Gaza, we’re in very serious negotiations, I guess you can say, depending upon the way you count, you could say 3000-years or 500-years, but it’s been raging for a long time. And I think there is a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East, it is something even beyond the Gaza situation,” Trump said.He added that the immediate focus of the negotiations is on securing the release of hostages. “We want the release of hostages immediately. Our team is over there now. Another team just left, and literally every country in the world has supported the plan (referring to his proposed 20-point peace plan for Gaza). I don’t think there is anybody that hasn’t, not that I have seen. But there is a real chance that we could do something.”
The talks are taking place in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, with mediators from Egypt and Qatar, and the participation of senior officials from the US, Qatar, and Turkey. US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are also part of the American delegation, according to White House officials.The negotiations are based on a 20-point peace proposal put forward by Trump last week. The plan envisions a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas, and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. A key element includes the deployment of an international security force, followed by a surge in humanitarian aid to the war-torn territory.Hamas has not agreed to disarm and continues to demand a full Israeli withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire. A senior Egyptian official involved in the talks said the militant group is also seeking guarantees that Israel won’t resume military operations after the release of the remaining hostages. Israel estimates 20 of the 48 remaining hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attack are still alive.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will not end until all hostages are returned and Hamas is disarmed. His government has officially accepted Trump’s proposal, though Hamas has yet to publicly endorse its key conditions.Trump, speaking separately on Monday, framed the deal as an opportunity for broader regional peace: “This is beyond Gaza. Gaza is a big deal, but this is really peace in the Middle East.”The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants entered southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. In the two years since, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed over 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, with over 170,000 wounded. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has escalated sharply. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that hostilities have created “a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale that defied comprehension.” He added that Trump’s proposal “presents an opportunity that must be seized to bring this tragic conflict to an end.”Talks are expected to continue through the week, with no formal timeline announced. Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty confirmed that US delegates would join the next round of negotiations on Wednesday.(With inputs from agencies)
