Mediators meet Palestinian terrorists in Cairo for talks on advancing Gaza truce

Talks on advancing U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan kicked off in Cairo between mediators and Palestinian terrorists on Sunday, a source familiar with the matter told AFP.

The meetings, which were set to resume on Monday, bring together mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, along with representatives of Hamas and several other Gaza-based terrorist organizations, according to the report.

Mediators were expected to meet with Hamas’s delegation before noon, followed by a wider meeting including all participating terrorists.

Egypt’s Al Qahera News channel reported that Sunday’s talks focused on “the proposed roadmap for completing the implementation of the agreement.”

“It was held in a positive atmosphere,” the report went, adding that there was agreement on the need to continue implementing Trump’s plan.

The current truce went into effect in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 10, 2025, ending the two-year war that began when Hamas, other Palestinian terrorist groups and Gazan “civilians” invaded the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023.

Top Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashaal and Musa Abu Marzouk, have rejected key parts of the second phase in recent months, including disarmament, despite having agreed to the proposal in October.

The terms of the first stage leave the Israel Defense Forces in control of more than half of the Strip.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir during a visit to Gaza on Sunday said the military continues to “strengthen operational control on the ground and erode Hamas’s power.”

“We will continue to act until we achieve the goal of disarming Hamas—this is a goal we will not give up on,” he declared following a tour of the Strip.

“Our forces are prepared and are on high alert on all fronts,” said Zamir. “The IDF is prepared to return to combat and is ready for whatever is required until the mission is completed and the security of the residents of the State of Israel is ensured.”

The Board of Peace, which oversees the Gaza truce and is chaired by Trump, wants the U.N. Security Council to pressure Hamas to disarm, according to a report of its activities viewed by JNS last month.

The Board of Peace cited Hamas’s refusal to disarm as “the principal obstacle to full implementation” of the ceasefire, criticizing its “refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza.”