Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt — After two years of relentless bloodshed and destruction in Gaza, negotiators from Israel and Hamas are facing a narrow window of opportunity to end one of the most devastating conflicts in modern Middle Eastern history. The talks, taking place in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, aim to halt the fighting, secure the release of Israeli hostages, and pave the way for humanitarian recovery in Gaza.
The discussions come at a poignant moment — exactly two years since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, which left around 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and 251 taken hostage. Israeli authorities estimate that 20 hostages remain alive, with the bodies of 28 others yet to be returned.
Israel’s military response has been catastrophic for Gaza. According to Gaza’s health ministry — whose figures are broadly viewed as credible and even conservative by international observers, including a study in The Lancet medical journal — more than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed, among them over 18,000 children. Much of the enclave now lies in ruins, and over two million residents are facing what aid agencies describe as a man-made humanitarian catastrophe, with famine conditions in several areas due to severe Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries.
Public sentiment in both Israel and Gaza has turned toward ending the conflict. Polls in Israel show a growing majority in favor of a deal that would bring home the remaining hostages and conclude the war. Many of the hundreds of thousands of reservists serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are eager to return to civilian life after months of grueling duty.
In Gaza, Hamas’s military structure has been largely dismantled, leaving the group operating as an urban guerrilla force waging an insurgency amid the rubble. While Hamas has agreed in principle to cede governing power to a transitional administration of Palestinian technocrats, the group seeks to retain limited defensive capability — enough to protect itself from internal retribution and maintain a semblance of influence.
Although Hamas’s charter still calls for Israel’s destruction, its immediate goal appears to be survival. The delegation in Sharm el-Sheikh is led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya, who narrowly survived an Israeli strike in Doha last month that killed several Hamas members, including his son.
For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the stakes are equally high — politically and personally. Facing corruption charges and declining public trust, Netanyahu is under immense pressure to deliver what he calls “total victory,” defined as the return of hostages, the destruction of Hamas, and the demilitarization of Gaza. With elections due next year, failure to meet those objectives could mark the end of his long political career.
The Sharm el-Sheikh talks are being mediated by Egyptian and Qatari officials, with strong U.S. involvement. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan forms the basis of negotiations. Trump, eager to cement his diplomatic legacy, is pushing for swift progress and hopes the talks will revive his long-cherished ambition to broker a broader Middle East accord — including normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
However, Riyadh has publicly stated that no such rapprochement can occur while Israel continues its military operations in Gaza, restricts humanitarian aid, and withholds commitment to a clear, irreversible path toward an independent Palestinian state. The Trump plan, notably, makes no reference to the future of the West Bank — a major sticking point for Arab states and the Palestinian Authority.
The immediate focus of negotiations is a prisoner and hostage exchange — a complex arrangement that could involve the release of Palestinians serving life sentences in Israeli prisons and those detained without trial since the war began, in return for all remaining Israeli captives. Success on that front could unlock a broader ceasefire agreement and a potential framework for Gaza’s reconstruction and governance transition.
Despite the uncertainty, diplomats view the current talks as the most serious effort yet to end a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and reshaped regional geopolitics.
As one Egyptian mediator put it, “Both sides have lost too much. The question now is whether they are ready to lose their war in order to win peace.”
About The Author
