CAIRO: Qatar’s prime minister and Turkish delegates will join Hamas and Israeli negotiators in Egypt on Wednesday (Oct 8) for a third day of talks aimed at ending the Gaza war.

Israel and Hamas are holding indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, based on a 20-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump last month.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are all due to attend the talks.

“There’s a real chance that we could do something,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, adding that US negotiators were also involved in the talks.

“I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It’s something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately.”

Trump said the United States would do “everything possible to make sure everyone adheres to the deal” if Hamas and Israel do agree on a ceasefire.

The talks came as Israel commemorated the second anniversary of Hamas’s Oct 7 attack that triggered the war.

At the close of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, Hamas-led militants launched the deadliest attack on Israel in the country’s history, sparking a huge retaliatory offensive in Gaza.

It resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.

Global pressure to end the war has escalated, with much of Gaza flattened, a UN-declared famine unfolding and Israeli hostage families still longing for their loved ones’ return.

A UN probe last month accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, while rights groups have accused Hamas of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Oct 7 attack. Both sides reject the allegations.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters joined pro-Palestinian mass demonstrations in cities across the world last weekend, calling for an immediate end to the war, including in Italy, Spain, Ireland and Britain.

Demonstrators in the Netherlands called for their government to recognise a Palestinian state, while tens of thousands in Britain defied Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s calls to skip rallies, holding vigils and gatherings on the Oct 7 anniversary.