Key Sticking Points in Trump's Gaza Peace Plan

Tue Oct 21 2025 02:59:34 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

As indirect negotiations resume between Israel and Hamas, Trump's peace framework faces significant hurdles, particularly concerning hostage releases, disarmament, future governance in Gaza, and military withdrawals.

Negotiators from Israel and Hamas are set to begin crucial discussions in Sharm El-Sheikh, aimed at ending the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan, while welcomed by Israel and partially accepted by Hamas, presents major sticking points, including the structure for hostage releases, disarmament of Hamas, future governance of Gaza post-conflict, and the specifics of Israeli military withdrawal. Trust remains low as both sides grapple with these contentious issues.

Negotiators from Israel and Hamas are heading to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to start indirect talks over an end to the Israel-Gaza war. It is the closest both sides have come to a deal since the war began two years ago.

But Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan - which Israel has agreed to and Hamas has partly agreed to - is really just a framework, only a few pages long. And there are still major sticking points for both sides to resolve.

Hostage release structure

Trump's plan states that within 72 hours of a deal being agreed all remaining hostages would be released. It is thought 48 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Trump said over the weekend the hostages could be released very soon, while Netanyahu mentioned they could be freed before the end of the Jewish holiday Sukkot - or October 13th.

Hamas has agreed to the hostage exchange formula in Trump's plan, providing certain field conditions are met. However, the hostages are the group's only bargaining chip, and it's unclear if they would be willing to release them before other deal elements are finalized.

Members of the negotiating team, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, whose son was killed in the airstrike attempt on the team last month, will now be meeting just a stone's throw from Israel's delegation in Egypt.

Hamas disarmament

Israel has stated its goal throughout the war has been the destruction of Hamas, with Netanyahu repeatedly declaring he will not stop until the group is finished. A key requirement of Trump's plan requires Hamas to disarm, which the group has previously refused, insisting it will only do so once a Palestinian state is established.

No mention of disarmament was made in Hamas’s response, suggesting it has not changed its stance. Over the weekend, Netanyahu vowed: Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarised – either the easy way or the hard way.

Future governance of Gaza

Trump's plan states that Hamas will have no future role in Gaza, which would be governed by a temporary transitional body of Palestinian technocrats, supervised by a Board of Peace chaired by Trump and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Eventually, governance would transition to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Though Netanyahu agreed to all of Trump's points, he has pushed back against PA involvement, insisting it would play no role in governing Gaza. This stance is likely to be contentious among Netanyahu’s ultranationalist hardliners, many of whom want to retain control and reconstruct Jewish settlements in Gaza.

Hamas indicated that it expected to have some role in governing Gaza as part of a unified Palestinian movement. This vague wording is likely unacceptable to both Trump and the Israelis.

Israeli withdrawal

The extent of Israel's military withdrawal is another point of contention. Trump's plan states that Israel will withdraw its military based on standards, milestones, and timeframes to be agreed upon by all parties.

A map distributed by the White House showed plans for Israeli troop withdrawal in three stages. However, the vague wording provides no concrete timeline for a full withdrawal, which Hamas is likely to want clarity on.

Additionally, the map shared by the White House doesn't match with Israeli military maps regarding militarized areas, and some Gaza borders are inaccurately drawn.