Hamas talks 'optimism', as second flotilla group intercepted by Israel

TOP HEADLINES

• Hamas said on Wednesday that "optimism" was prevailing in indirect talks with Israel aimed at ending the Gaza war, with the militant group submitting a list of prisoners it wants released in exchange for freeing Israeli hostages as part of an agreement. READ MORE BELOW

• A group of vessels attempting to deliver aid to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters on Wednesday, the coalition behind the convoy said, the second such interception in the past week. READ MORE BELOW

• Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated around the world on Tuesday against Israel's assault on Gaza.

• Events were held across Israel to mark the anniversary of the Hamas attack while in Germany mourners gathered at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, placing stones and photos of victims in a vigil echoing Jewish remembrance traditions.

• U.S. President Donald Trump asked Türkiye to "persuade" Hamas to accept his plan for ending the Gaza war, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a transcript shared by his office Wednesday.

• Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir prayed at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Wednesday and called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue "complete victory" over Hamas in Gaza.

• Nasser Hospital sources told Al Jazeera that at least one person has been killed and others wounded after Israeli forces fired at people waiting for aid near a distribution centre north of Rafah.

• Gaza's Government Media Office has said in a statement that the Israeli army is killing two medical personnel and one journalist every three days.

IN DETAIL

'Optimism prevails', says Hamas

Hamas said on Wednesday it had exchanged a list of the names of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released under a swap deal and that it was optimistic about talks in Egypt on U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.

"The mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails among all parties," senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said from Sharm El-Sheikh.

Negotiations, to be attended by senior foreign political and intelligence officials, are focused on the mechanisms to halt the conflict, withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the swap deal, the Palestinian militant group added.

One of the biggest sticking points will be pressure on Hamas to disarm, an issue it has so far been unwilling to discuss at the talks, according to a Palestinian source close to the negotiations.

The timing of the implementation of the first phase of President Donald Trump's 20-point initiative has not been agreed so far during talks in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Palestinian source said.

A U.S. team including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law who served as Middle East envoy during Trump's first term, will take part in the talks over a plan that has come closest to silencing the guns.

But officials on all sides urged caution over the prospects for a rapid agreement.

President Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that Gaza must remain part of a Palestinian state in any post-war scenario and it must be governed by Palestinians. Erdogan added that the deployment of foreign forces to Gaza and ensuring security there should be discussed in detail, and Ankara was ready to contribute to all efforts.

U.S. officials suggest they want to initially focus talks on a halt to the fighting and the logistics of how the Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees in Israel would be freed.

Even if a major breakthrough is reached, there is no clear indication yet of who will rule Gaza when the war ends. Netanyahu, Trump, Western and Arab states have ruled out any role for Hamas, which seized the territory in 2007 after a brief civil war with its Palestinian rivals.

Flotilla group says second group of vessels intercepted

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) announced that a group of its vessels attempting to deliver aid to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters on Wednesday.

The flotilla's vessels and passengers were safe, had been transferred to an Israeli port and were expected to be deported promptly, Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement on X.

"Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing," the ministry said.

The incident was the second such event in recent days, after Israel had intercepted about 40 vessels and detained more than 450 activists in an aid convoy, the Global Sumud Flotilla, that was also attempting to deliver supplies to Gaza.

The FFC said Israeli forces "hijacked the humanitarian fleet," adding that the "ships were illegally intercepted ... Participants - humanitarians, doctors and journalists from across the world - have been taken against their will and are being held in unknown conditions."

"The Israeli military has no legal jurisdiction over international waters," it said. "Our flotilla poses no harm."

The ships carried aid worth more than $110,000 in medicines, respiratory equipment and nutritional supplies intended for Gaza's starving hospitals, it added on its Instagram account.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday said he strongly condemned the Israeli military after it intercepted several boats carrying aid to Gaza, and demanded that Malaysian activists taking part in the flotilla mission be released.