Hamas ‘Optimistic’ as Prisoner Lists Exchanged in Ceasefire Talks with Israel
A senior Hamas official has confirmed that the resistance movement has submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners it seeks to be released in exchange for Israeli captives, as part of ongoing indirect negotiations.
Hamas spokesperson Taher al-Nunu said on Wednesday that the group had exchanged lists of prisoners and captives with mediators as part of a truce proposal put forward last month by the administration of US President Donald Trump. He expressed optimism about the progress of the talks.
The spokesperson said the prisoner exchange will take place in the first phase of the truce “in accordance with the agreed-upon criteria and numbers.”
In return, Hamas is set to release 47 Israeli captives, both alive and dead, who were seized during the Al-Aqsa Storm operation on October 7, 2023, against the occupying regime.
Al-Nunu also expressed optimism about reaching a deal to end Israel’s two-year war on Gaza, including the withdrawal of the regime’s forces from the Palestinian territory.
“The mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails among all parties,” he said.
Top US envoys and prominent regional figures have joined the third day of indirect talks between Tel Aviv and Hamas in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the reports he had received since their arrival were “very encouraging.”
Sisi claimed that Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner came “with a strong will, a strong message, and a strong mandate from President Trump to end the war in this round of negotiations.”
Sisi has reportedly invited Trump to travel to Egypt for a signing ceremony if a deal is reached.
It has now been two years since Israel launched its genocidal campaign against the people of Gaza, killing more than 67,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Hamas’s top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said the resistance group now seeks “guarantees from President Trump and the sponsor countries that the war will end once and for all.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime has repeatedly violated past truces, including one brokered by Egypt and Qatar in January, which was shattered when the Israeli military resumed its attacks on Gaza in March.
Palestinians and international mediators say such breaches have undermined trust in any new deal, with Hamas officials warning that without firm international guarantees, Netanyahu could once again exploit a pause to regroup the Israeli military before continuing the massacre of Palestinian women and children.