Negotiators gather for Gaza talks under Trump plan, swift deal unlikely

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) -Officials from Israel and Hamas were in an Egyptian resort on Monday to launch talks that the U.S. hopes will bring a halt to the war in Gaza and a release of hostages, despite contentious issues such as disarmament of the Palestinian militant group. The negotiations on President Donald Trump's plan were set to begin on the eve of the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war, when fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and left the majority of 2.2 million Gazans homeless and hungry in the rubble of the enclave destroyed by relentless bombardment.