Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained

A senior Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told the BBC that an evening round of indirect talks on Tuesday began at 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT).

The official said the morning session ended without tangible results, amid disagreements over the proposed Israeli withdrawal maps from Gaza and over guarantees Hamas wants to ensure Israel does not resume fighting after the first phase of the deal.

He added that the talks were "tough and have yet to produce any real breakthrough," but noted that mediators were working hard to narrow the gaps between the two sides.

Trump addressed concerns on Tuesday, telling reporters that "we're going to do everything possible to make sure everybody adheres to the deal".

Earlier, a Palestinian official said the negotiations were focused on five key issues: a permanent ceasefire; the exchange of the hostages still held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza; the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza; arrangements for humanitarian aid deliveries; and post-war governance of the territory.

Chief Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, whom Israel targeted last month in a series of strikes on Qatar's capital, told Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV the group had come "to engage in serious and responsible negotiations," according to the Reuters news agency.

Al-Hayya said Hamas was ready to reach a deal, but it needed "guarantees" that the war would end and not restart.

Senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said the group's negotiators were working to remove "all obstacles to an agreement that meets the aspirations of our people".

Trump said the prospects for peace were "something even beyond the Gaza situation", adding that "we want the release of the hostages immediately".

Speaking on the anniversary of the 7 October attacks, the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, UN Secretary General António Guterres called on all parties to agree to Trump's peace plan, describing it as a "historic opportunity" to "bring this tragic conflict to an end".

Opinion polls now consistently show that around 70% of Israelis want the war to end in exchange for the release of the hostages.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 67,160 have been killed by Israeli military operations in Gaza since then, including 18,000 children, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Its figures are seen as reliable by the UN and other international bodies.

In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed body, said that more than half a million people across Gaza were facing "catastrophic" conditions characterised by "starvation, destitution and death".

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied starvation is taking place in Gaza.

A United Nations commission of inquiry found Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, in a report Israel's foreign ministry categorically rejected as "distorted and false".

US special envoy and Trump's son-in-law to join Gaza peace talks in Egypt