A US delegation led by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff will soon join talks in Egypt for a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal based on US President Donald Trump’s proposal, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Tuesday.

Abdelatty’s statement came as Qatar declared that the Israel Defense Forces should have already ceased operations in Gaza under the plan, and that the war would end once the remaining 48 hostages were released.

Meanwhile, Hamas celebrated the second anniversary of its October 7 invasion and hostage-taking in southern Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, Abdelatty said he and Wadephul “had a long conversation with Steve Witkoff, who is expected in Egypt in the coming hours.”

Alongside Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser Jared Kushner is also expected to join the indirect talks that resumed Tuesday in the resort town of Sharm el Sheikh, The New York Times reported, citing an official familiar with their itineraries who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Witkoff and Kushner were architects of Trump’s 20-point plan, which calls for a gradual Israeli withdrawal and the release of all remaining hostages within 72 hours of the start of a truce, among other conditions.

According to the official cited by the Times, Witkoff and Kushner’s presence in Sharm el Sheikh would indicate that the talks are progressing. Neither Trump adviser immediately responded to requests for comment.

Hostage families have hailed Trump for his efforts to end the war and bring back their loved ones. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents most of the hostages’ relatives in Israel, on Monday wrote to the Norwegian Nobel Committee to recommend the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize.

On Tuesday, Trump wrote to the Forum to express his “sincerest thanks” for the move.

Since the October 7 onslaught, Trump said, he has “been resolved to returning all the hostages home, and ensuring the total destruction of Hamas so these horrific acts may never be repeated.”

“These unspeakable scenes have been seared into our memories, and we will never forget,” he added. “Please know that we remain steadfastly committed to seeing an end both to this conflict and the waves of antisemitism, both at home and abroad.”

After several hours of talks Monday, an Egyptian official with knowledge of the discussions said the parties agreed on most of the first-phase terms, which include a truce, the release of the hostages, and an initial Israeli withdrawal.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meetings, said the talks resumed Tuesday afternoon.

Palestinian and Egyptian officials have indicated that Hamas wants clear guarantees and timelines for Israel’s withdrawal, due to worries that Israel will ditch the talks once the terror group gives up its only leverage by freeing the hostages.

The foreign ministry spokesman for mediator Qatar said Tuesday that “if Hamas hands over the hostages, that would mean the end of the war.”

In comments to reporters in Doha, Majed al-Ansari was also cautious on the Egypt peace talks.

“I have no doubt that this round of negotiations is a process in which all parties are strongly committed to reaching a consensus, but there are many details to consider,” he said, adding that the plan’s clauses “require practical interpretation on the ground, which of course requires communication with all parties.”

He said it was still “early” to discuss the future of Hamas’s political bureau in Doha, after Israel’s botched strike on the group’s leadership in the Qatari capital last month.

The Hamas bureau has helped Doha mediate in the conflict, Ansari said, adding: “As long as there is a need for a channel [of communication with Hamas], there is a need for this.”

Ansari also said Israel should have ceased operations in Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the deal, which the premier expressed support for in a joint press conference with Trump at the White House last week.

“We await the outcomes of the negotiations in the coming days regarding the ceasefire. This question should be directed first to the Israeli occupation government. It was supposed to actually cease fire if the statements made by the prime minister there regarding adherence to the Trump plan were true,” said Ansari.

While Netanyahu has endorsed the deal, it has not been ratified in either the cabinet or the Knesset. However, the IDF was ordered to halt offensive operations in Gaza after Trump, on Saturday, accepted Hamas’s response to his offer and called on Israel to stop bombing the Strip.

Nonetheless, deadly Israeli strikes have continued in the Hamas-run Strip, according to medical sources there, who reported at least 10 Palestinians killed by the IDF since dawn on Tuesday. The IDF has said it is carrying out strikes to guarantee the security of troops holding their line in Gaza.

In a video statement to mark two years since the October 7 atrocities, Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said the Palestinian terrorist group’s delegation to Egypt was “seeking to remove all obstacles to achieving an agreement that meets the aspirations of our people,” according to a translation of his comments by news site Egypt Today.

“We seek a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, and the guarantee of the return of the displaced,” he said.

“We have dealt with all ceasefire proposals over the past two years with great responsibility, the most recent being President Trump’s proposal,” he added, accusing Netanyahu of having thwarted previous deals.

Barhoum also hailed the October 7 attack, saying it “restored our Palestinian cause to its global standing, and exposed the fascist occupation as a threat to the security of the region.” Hamas denounces Israel’s existence as an “occupation” and avowedly seeks the Jewish state’s destruction.

In a separate statement marking the October 7 anniversary, Hamas called the onslaught a “glorious day of success” for Palestinians and a “meaningful turning point” for the region.

“Two years on, and the enemy is still continuing its barbaric war against the steadfast Palestinian people, and continues its massacres against innocent civilians, while the world is silent and the Arab countries abandon them in an unprecedented way,” said the Islamist terror organization.

The statement also memorialized top Hamas leaders killed by Israel since the October 7 massacre, including Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Saleh al-Arouri and Muhammad Deif.

Thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, 47 of whom remain in Gaza. Hamas is also holding the remains of a soldier killed fighting in Gaza in 2014. At least 26 of the 48 hostages have been confirmed dead by the IDF.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 67,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and accuses Hamas of using Gaza’s civilians as human shields.