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LAST UPDATE | 7 Oct
HAMAS AND ISRAELI officials have resumed talks at an Egyptian resort on a US-drafted peace plan to end the ruinous war in Gaza on the eve of its second anniversary.
The second day of indirect negotiations at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh are focused on a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump last week that aims to bring about an end to the war.
Two years ago to the day, at the close of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, Hamas-led militants launched a surprise assault on Israel, making it the deadliest day in the country’s history.
1,195 people were killed in the attack, and 251 hostages were taken into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
For two years since the attack, Israel has launched continuous retaliatory assaults on Gaza, and has enforced humanitarian aid blockades on the region.
The genocide, labelled as such by a UN commission, numerous aid organisations and world governments (including Ireland), has resulted in 67,160 Palestinians being killed by Israel in Gaza.
Memorial events were scheduled in Israel on Tuesday to mark the anniversary.
Dozens of relatives and friends of those killed at the Nova music festival lit candles and held a minute’s silence at the site of the attack in southern Israel, where Palestinian militants killed more than 370 people and seized dozens of hostages.
Many Israelis went to the Nova festival site on Monday.
“It was a very difficult and enormous incident that happened here,” Elad Gancz, a teacher, told AFP as he mourned the dead.
“But we want to live – and despite everything, continue with our lives, remembering those who were here and, unfortunately, are no longer with us.”
Another ceremony was due in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where weekly rallies have kept up calls for the captives’ release.
A state-organised commemoration is planned for 16 October.
In a statement today, Tánaiste Simon Harris was among a number of politicians across the globe to pay tribute to those killed in the 7 October attack.
“I think of those indiscriminately and brutally killed on that terrible day, the many more hurt and injured, and of the hostages still being held captive in Gaza by Hamas and other terrorist groups,” Harris said.
“Their pain and anguish, and that of their families and loved ones, is unimaginable.
“I am deeply aware of the enduring trauma that was inflicted on Israeli society, and on Jewish and Israeli communities here in Ireland and around the world, on 7 October, as well as concerns around increasing antisemitism globally. This must never be minimised,” Harris added.
He also paid tribute to the Palestinians killed over the last two years.
“Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been displaced. Their homes, their homeland, have been destroyed. Hunger stalks their land. Their loss is inconceivable,” Harris said.
“Irish people are shocked and reeling, as are so many others around the world, in the face of such unconscionable suffering and brutality.”
Peace talks between Hamas and Israeli officials, which went on for several hours, unfolded amid many questions about the plan presented by Trump last week, including the disarmament of the militant group — a key Israeli demand — and the future governance of Gaza.
Trump has indicated that an agreement on Gaza could pave the way for a Middle East peace process that could reshape the region.
Despite Trump ordering Israel to stop the bombing, Israeli forces continued to pound Gaza with airstrikes, killing at least 19 people in the last 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said.
An Egyptian official with knowledge of the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said the parties have agreed on most of the first-phase terms, which include the release of hostages and establishing a ceasefire.
The Israelis are led by top negotiator Ron Dermer, while Khalil al-Hayyah leads the Hamas delegation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk would be present for Israel.
Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News television station reported that the talks began with a meeting between Arab mediators and the Hamas delegation.
Mediators were to meet later with the Israeli delegation, the station said.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were also expected to join the talks, local Egyptian media said.
Hamas said negotiations will focus on the first stage of a ceasefire, including the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces as well as the release of hostages held by the militants in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention.
This latest push for peace comes after Hamas accepted some elements of the US plan that Israel also said it supported.
Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — about 20 of whom are believed to be alive — within three days. It would give up power and disarm.
The talks in Egypt are expected to move quickly.
Netanyahu said they would be “confined to a few days maximum,” though some Hamas officials have warned that more time may be needed to locate bodies of hostages buried under rubble.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi hailed Trump’s efforts, underscoring the importance of preserving the US-crafted “peace system” in the Middle East since the 1970s, which he said “served as a strategic framework for regional stability”.
El-Sisi spoke in a televised address commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1973 war with Israel that led to Egypt reclaiming the Sinai Peninsula, where Sharm el-Sheikh is located.
The US has said Israel’s heavy bombardment of Gaza would need to stop for hostages to be released.
Israel says it is largely heeding Trump’s call.
The Israeli military said it is mostly carrying out defensive strikes to protect troops, though dozens of Palestinians have been killed since the military’s statement on Saturday night.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Monday that the bodies of 19 people, including two aid-seekers killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire, had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours and another 96 were wounded.
Additional reporting from AFP
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