Hamas leader Taher Al-Nunu revealed on Wednesday the latest developments in the ongoing negotiations in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

Al-Nunu, media advisor to the head of Hamas’s political bureau, said in statements published by Hamas on its Telegram channel: “The movement’s delegation has shown the necessary positivity and responsibility to achieve the required progress and complete the agreement,” noting that mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to implementing the ceasefire steps.

He added: “A spirit of optimism is spreading among everyone,” pointing out that the negotiations focused on mechanisms to end the war, Israeli troop withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and prisoner exchange.

Al-Nunu stated that “today, lists of prisoners to be released were exchanged according to the agreed criteria and numbers, and indirect negotiations continue today with the participation of all parties and mediators.”

In Wednesday morning remarks, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, whose country is hosting the talks, said he heard “very encouraging things” about the Sharm El-Sheikh talks and invited US President Donald Trump to attend the signing ceremony “if an agreement is reached.”

Hamas has emphasized the need for guarantees that any agreement reached will lead to a final end to the war that caused massive destruction and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas chief negotiator in Sharm El-Sheikh, Khalil Al-Hayya, said Hamas “wants guarantees from President Trump and the sponsoring countries to end the war forever.”

Al-Hayya told the semi-official Cairo News Channel: “We have experienced the Israeli occupation; we do not trust it even for a moment. Historically, the Israeli occupation does not keep its promises, so we want real guarantees from President Trump and the sponsoring countries. We are ready with full positivity to reach an end to the war.”

Meanwhile, a Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that Hamas discussed during the Sharm El-Sheikh talks “the preliminary maps presented by the Israeli side for withdrawal, in addition to the mechanism for prisoner exchange and the schedules.”

The source said Hamas insists on linking prisoner handover dates with Israeli withdrawal dates.

Separately, a senior delegation from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement is arriving in Sharm El-Sheikh tonight to participate in the ongoing indirect negotiations with Israel, according to the movement’s media office in a statement on Telegram.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, envoys of US President Donald Trump, arrived in Sharm El-Sheikh on Wednesday morning to join the negotiations.

The talks aim to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, release the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and end the war that has now lasted over two years, as part of a 20-point plan proposed by President Trump.

Indirect talks between Israeli negotiators and Hamas began Monday and made some progress, but US and Israeli officials said the talks would not reach a decisive stage until Witkoff and Kushner arrived, according to the US Axios website.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Turkish Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin are also scheduled to join the talks on Wednesday.

President Trump said there is a “real opportunity” to reach an agreement to end the war now in its third year.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday: “There is a real opportunity to do something. I think there is a chance to establish peace in the Middle East. It goes beyond even the situation in Gaza. We want the immediate release of the hostages.”

The US president stressed that his country “will do everything possible to ensure all parties comply with the agreement” if reached to end the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump’s plan achieves Israel’s war objectives.

Netanyahu pledged in a speech Tuesday evening to achieve all these goals, starting with ensuring the release of all hostages, coinciding with the second anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel.

Netanyahu said: “We are living critical and decisive days, and we will continue working to achieve all the war goals: returning all abductees, eliminating Hamas rule, and ensuring that the Gaza Strip will no longer pose a threat to Israel.”

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir prayed in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on Wednesday, calling on Prime Minister Netanyahu to achieve a “complete victory” over Hamas in Gaza.

In a video broadcast from the mosque’s outskirts, Ben-Gvir said that after two years since Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, which ignited the Gaza war, Israel is achieving “victory” in the Al-Aqsa sanctuary, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

A second video showed him praying inside the sanctuary, in a new challenge to a longstanding concept that only Muslims are allowed to pray at the site.

Ben-Gvir said in a video posted by his party, the Jewish Power: “Every home in Gaza carries a picture of the Temple Mount, and today, after two years, we are victorious at the Temple Mount. We are the owners of the Temple Mount.”

He added: “I pray to God that our Prime Minister will allow us to achieve a complete victory in Gaza by destroying Hamas, and with God’s help, we will bring back the hostages and achieve a complete victory.”

Hamas condemned Ben-Gvir’s “storming” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards, considering it a “deliberate provocative step.”

In a statement, Hamas said: “Today, extremist Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, leading groups of settlers, in a deliberate provocative step,” reflecting “the fascist mentality ruling the occupation government, deliberately violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa and the feelings of Muslims worldwide.”

Israeli forces intercepted on Wednesday a group of ships attempting to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip in international waters, according to the coalition behind the convoy, marking the second such interception in a week.

Last week, Israel intercepted about 40 ships and arrested more than 450 activists in the “Global Steadfastness Fleet” aid convoy, which was also trying to deliver supplies to Gaza.

Footage from a camera aboard the ship Conscience showed the moment Israeli forces informed the crew and passengers they would board the ship.

The Free Gaza Coalition (FFC), organizer of the Global Steadfastness Fleet, is an international network of pro-Palestinian activist groups organizing civilian maritime missions aiming to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Strip.