Negotiators gather for Gaza talks under Trump plan, swift deal unlikely

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Oct 6: Officials from Israel, Hamas's top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya were in an Egyptian resort on Monday to launch talks that the US hopes will bring a halt to the war in Gaza and a release of hostages, despite contentious issues such as disarmament of the Palestinian militant group.

The negotiations on President Donald Trump's plan were set to begin on the eve of the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war, when fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and left the majority of 2.2 million Gazans homeless and hungry in the rubble of the enclave destroyed by relentless bombardment.

Two Israeli sources said the Israeli negotiators had arrived in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the talks, focused on freeing hostages, part of the USpresident's 20-point blueprint for ending the conflict. Hamas officials had already arrived earlier in the day.

"If there is a deal, then we survive. If there isn't, it is like we have been sentenced to death," said Gharam Mohammad, 20, displaced along with her family in central Gaza.

Al Jazeera adds, Delegations from Hamas, Israel and the United States are due to convene in Egypt for talks on US President Donald Trump's proposal to end the war on Gaza.    �"AGENCIES