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Indirect talks aimed at reaching a lasting settlement on a Trump administration initiative to halt hostilities in Gaza have started in the Egyptian city of the negotiation site.

Middle Eastern and regional officials have reported that the meetings are centered around "preparing the environment" for a possible exchange that would see the freeing of all captured Israelis in compensation of a group of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas has said it agrees to the peace plan proposals in part, but has not responded to several essential conditions - such as its disarmament and governance position in Gaza.

The Israeli leader said on the weekend that he hoped to announce the liberation of captives "soon"

Background Context

The negotiations, which will feature regional and international officials holding shuttle meetings with delegations from both the two sides in isolation, take place on the eve of the 24-month point of the armed assault on Israeli territories on the initial attack date, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were taken hostage.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response. From that point, approximately 67,160 have been fatally injured by armed interventions in Gaza, based on data from the area's medical administration.

Initiative Components

The 20-point plan, which has been approved by the Trump administration and Israeli officials, proposes an immediate end to hostilities and the liberation of 48 captives, only 20 individuals are considered living, in return for numerous of incarcerated individuals.

The proposal specifies that once the two parties accept the proposal "complete assistance will be quickly dispatched into the Palestinian territory"

It also specifies that the militant group would have no participation in governing Gaza, and it leaves the door open an eventual Palestinian state.

Latest Updates

On Friday, officials replied to the initiative in a announcement, in which the group approved "to free all detainees, both living and dead, following the transfer mechanism contained in President Trump's proposal" - if the required situation for the swaps are fulfilled.

It omitted reference to or accept the detailed initiative but said it "renews its agreement to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of professionals, established through Palestinian national consensus and regional endorsement"

The statement failed to address of one of the key demands of the proposal – that the militant group consent to its weapons surrender and to playing no further role in the governance of Gaza.

International Response

Gaza inhabitants described Hamas' response to the negotiation initiative as surprising, after days of signals that the faction was likely to refuse or at least heavily condition its endorsement of Trump's peace plan proposal.

Conversely, the militant group omitted its traditional "red lines" in the official statement, a action many consider a evidence of outside forces.

European and Middle Eastern representatives have welcomed the plan. The Palestinian Authority, which governs areas of the disputed regions, has characterized the US president's efforts as "genuine and committed"

The Persian nation - which has been one of Hamas's main sponsors for decades - has also recently indicated its support for Trump's Gaza peace plan.

Present Conditions

Military strikes persisted in several parts of the conflict zone on Monday ahead of the negotiations starting.

Israel is conducting an military operation in the city, which it has stated is intended to achieving the freeing of the remaining hostages.

An official representative, speaking for the region's Hamas-run civil defence, reported that "no aid trucks have been permitted entry to the urban center since the campaign commenced one month prior"

"Victims remain we cannot access from zones under military occupation" he stated.

Hundreds of thousands of the metropolitan area have been compelled to evacuate after the armed services mandated relocations to a established protection region in the lower territory, but additional numerous individuals are believed to have remained.

The military official has warned that those who stay during the combat campaign would be "terrorists and supporters of terror"

In the previous day, 21 Palestinians have been fatally injured in Gaza and a additional 96 injured, the local medical authorities said in its most recent report.

Foreign correspondents have been restricted by Israel from visiting the Palestinian territory autonomously since the start of the war, making confirming reports from the conflicting groups difficult.