Indirect talks between Israeli and Hamas delegations commenced on Monday in Egypt to discuss a framework for the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reported.

The talks, hosted by Egyptian and Qatari mediators in the Red Sea city of Sharm El Sheikh, are focused on "preparing the ground" for the potential swap, according to the news channel.

With the priority to focus on and expand "common ground points" between Israel and Hamas, the mediators are actively working with both sides to "establish a mechanism for the release of all detainees in exchange for prisoners," it reported.

On October 4, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the Israel-Hamas indirect talks on Monday would discuss "field conditions and details" for the exchange of "all Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners" under the U.S.-proposed 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan.

On Tuesday, Israel marks the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack.

Two years ago, at the close of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, Hamas-led militants launched a surprise assault on Israel, making it the deadliest day in the country's history.

Palestinian fighters breached the Gaza-Israel border, storming southern Israeli communities and a desert music festival with gunfire, rockets and grenades.

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

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

Memorial events were scheduled on Tuesday to mark the anniversary. Families and friends of those killed at the Nova music festival were to gather at the site of the attack, where Hamas gunmen killed more than 370 people and seized dozens of hostages.

Another ceremony was due in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, where weekly rallies have kept up calls for the captives' release.

After two years of conflict, 72 percent of the Israeli public said they were dissatisfied with the government's handling of the war, according to a recent survey by the Institute for National Security Studies.

Herculean task

Israel has expanded its military reach over the course of the war, striking targets in five regional capitals, including Iran, and killing several senior Hamas figures and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel and Hamas now face mounting international pressure to end the war, with a UN probe last month accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and rights groups accusing Hamas of war crimes in the October 7 attack. Both sides reject the allegations.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point plan calling for an immediate ceasefire once Hamas releases all hostages, the group's disarmament, and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Indirect talks began Monday in Egypt's resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, with mediators shuttling between delegations under tight security.

Trump has urged negotiators to "move fast" to end the war in Gaza, where Israeli strikes continued on Monday.

The U.S. president told Newsmax TV, "I think we're very, very close to having a deal... I think there's a lot of goodwill being shown now. It's pretty amazing actually."

Although both sides have welcomed Trump's proposal, AFP says reaching an agreement on its details is expected to be a Herculean task.

The war has previously seen two ceasefires that enabled the release of dozens of hostages.

However, Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir has warned that if these negotiations fail, the military will "return to fighting" in Gaza.

(Cover: Photo shows the peace square in the Red Sea city of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, where Israeli and Hamas officials are holding indirect talks, October 6, 2025. /VCG)