Baba UmarWashington, DC — The White House has confirmed that US officials are involved in the indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks regarding the Gaza war, held in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, stating that they are reviewing the list of Israeli captives held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners jailed by Israel for a possible exchange.
"There are technical talks happening right now in Egypt among Special Envoy Witkoff and Mr. [Jared] Kushner as well as respective parties from all sides," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told media on Monday as Palestinians commemorate the second anniversary of what numerous countries, the UN, and scholars have described as a "genocide" in the besieged enclave.
"The technical teams are discussing, as we speak, to ensure that the environment is perfect to release those hostages. They're going over the list of both the Israeli hostages and also the (Palestinian) political prisoners who will be released, and those talks are under way," she added.
The talks in Egypt are part of Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan that was announced by the US President on September 29. The plan involves immediate halt in Israeli strikes, releasing Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners, a truce, Hamas disarmament, and Gaza's reconstruction.
Should Egyptian negotiations succeed, Hamas would release all 48 captives, including bodies of some 28 hostages. Israel would then free 250 life sentence prisoners, plus 1700 Palestinians seized post-October 2023, including all women and children.
For every Israeli captive whose remains are released, Israel will handover the remains of 15 deceased Palestinians from Gaza.
Hamas has agreed to release all captives but has not promised to lay down weapons. Hamas says it should be "discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework, in which Hamas will be included and will contribute with full responsibility."
Hamas' delegates, led by Khalil al Hayya — who survived an Israeli attack last month that killed his son in Qatar — are in Egypt discussing the next steps.
Despite Trump's order for Israel to halt its bombardment of Gaza following the announcement of his plan, Israeli troops have continued to strike Gaza. Over the past four days, Israeli strikes have resulted in the killings of more than 100 Palestinians, including a significant number of children, local officials say.
Palestinian health authorities have documented more than 67,000 Palestinian killings in Israel's two-year-old ground, air and sea war, with nearly a third of the dead under the age of 18. However, experts suggest the actual death toll may be higher.
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In White House, meanwhile, Leavitt called Trump's 20-point Gaza plan "truly remarkable", saying "all sides of this conflict agree that this war needs to end, and agree to the 20-point framework that President Trump proposed."
"It's an incredible achievement. And the (Trump) administration is working very hard to move the ball forward as quickly as we can. The president wants to see a ceasefire. He wants to see the hostages released," Leavitt added.
When asked if Trump's deadline for Hamas is still in effect, she stated that Hamas has already "put out a very clear statement, in the president's view, that they accept the president's framework, and that's why those technical talks are underway."
Regarding Hamas' proposal to relinquish governance of Gaza and transfer authority to a Palestinian government composed of technocrats, Leavitt said, "We're not quite there yet."
"The [Trump] president believes peace is possible in Gaza, and that's why he presented this detailed and comprehensive plan. The first step of that is securing a ceasefire and releasing the hostages, and then those conversations about ensuring a durable and lasting peace can continue," she added.
The comprehensive 20-point US plan also features clauses that will see Israel withdrawing troops from Gaza and the establishment of long-term peace, leading to Palestinian statehood.
Asked will the Trump administration recognise Palestinian state, Leavitt said, "Look, I don't want to get ahead of the technical talks right now. They're extremely sensitive. There are many things to discuss, of course, this is, hopefully, we expect going to be one of the greatest peace deals this world has ever seen, and the Trump administration is working diligently and working very hard to get there."
