Hamas said on Tuesday it is seeking a Gaza ceasefire deal based on U.S. President Trump’s proposal, but maintained several key demands, indicating that indirect negotiations with Israel in Egypt may prove challenging and protracted.

Trump, however, expressed optimism on Tuesday about progress toward a Gaza deal and said a U.S. team had just left to take part in the negotiations.

“I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East” beyond just Gaza, he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum set out Hamas’ position on the second anniversary of the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, and one day after the indirect negotiations began in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The talks appear the most promisin

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