Three diplomatic sources said on Wednesday that US Secretary of State Mark Rubio is expected to participate in a ministerial meeting tomorrow, Thursday, in Paris with European, Arab, and other countries to discuss plans for the situation after the Gaza war ends.

The meeting is held in parallel with negotiations between Israel, Hamas, and mediators at the Sharm El-Sheikh resort in Egypt, aiming to discuss how to implement a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end the war and assess collective commitments from the involved countries.

A French diplomatic source explained that the Arab-European meeting will be at the foreign ministers’ level and supports US efforts regarding Gaza. Among the Arab countries attending are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.

The source added that the meeting complements the Saudi-French initiative on the two-state solution.

On Wednesday, a new round of talks began in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, regarding President Trump’s plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

Sources from Al Arabiya and Al Hadath reported that there are outstanding issues between negotiators in Sharm El-Sheikh, with Hamas demanding the release of elite members as part of a prisoner exchange deal, including six leaders such as Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat.

Hamas also demands an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas to hand over prisoners and bodies and insists that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not return to war after the prisoners are handed over. Israeli withdrawal maps during the agreement phases are also among the outstanding issues, according to the sources.

Our sources indicated that handing over the bodies of detainees will take longer than what Trump’s plan specified. According to our sources, Hamas demands the entry of 400 trucks daily into the Gaza Strip.

Participants in the third day of talks include Qatar, the United States, Turkey, alongside Egypt hosting the talks in Sharm El-Sheikh. Arrivals include Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. The Egyptian intelligence chief also joined.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said the next two days would be crucial for the return of detainees and ending the war in Gaza. He also considered there to be a “real opportunity” to reach a peace agreement in Gaza.