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Hamas's partial approval of Donald Trump's Gaza ceasefire agreement on Friday has been met with worldwide approval representing the closest Israel and Hamas have come over the past 24 months toward stopping the war within the Gaza Strip.

How Close Are We to an Agreement?

Hamas's partial support of the US proposal is the closest negotiators have got in recent months to a comprehensive end to the war in Gaza. Nevertheless, they remain distant from an agreement.

Trump's 20-point initiative to conclude the war specifies that Hamas free all hostages within 72 hours, give up ruling power to a cross-border authority led by Donald Trump, and disarm. As compensation, Israel would gradually withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip and return over one thousand detainees.

This agreement includes an increase of assistance to Gaza, parts of which are undergoing starvation, and recovery financing to the Palestinian territory, which has been almost entirely devastated.

The organization only agreed on three items: the freeing of every captive, the handing over of control and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The group declared the rest of the agreement should be discussed alongside other Palestinian parties, as it is part of a “collective national stance”.

In practice, this means the group seeks more discussions on the thornier parts of the Trump deal, particularly the request for its disarmament, and a clear timeline regarding Israeli troop pullout.

Where and When Will Negotiations Take Place?

Representatives have flown to Cairo to work out specifics to close the divide between Israel and Hamas.

Discussions begin on Monday and are expected to yield outcomes within a few days, whether positive or negative.

Trump posted an image of a map of Gaza on Saturday night depicting the line to which Israeli troops ought to pull back and said that if the group consents to it, that the ceasefire would begin right away. The US president is eager to end the war as it comes its second anniversary and before the Nobel prize committee declares the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in October, which is an extensively reported preoccupation for him.

Benjamin Netanyahu announced an agreement to bring Israeli captives back home would ideally happen over the next few days.

What Gaps Remain?

Both Hamas and Israel have hedged their bets heading into negotiations.

Hamas has repeatedly refused to give up its arms during previous talks. It has given no word on if its position has shifted on this, even as it principally agrees to the US proposal, with qualifications. The US and Israel have emphasized that there exists little wiggle room regarding the disarmament demand and are determined to bind Hamas through firm wording in any plan going forward.

Hamas also said it accepted surrendering authority over Gaza to an expert-led administration, as outlined in the US proposal. But, in its announcement, the militant group specified it would agree to a Gaza-based technocratic governing body, rather than the global authority that Trump laid out in the proposal.

The Israeli government has also sought to keep the issue regarding its military pullout unclear. Just hours after announcing Trump’s plan in a joint press conference in Washington recently, the prime minister published a video reassuring the Israeli public that troops would stay across much of Gaza.

Last Saturday evening, the Israeli prime minister again repeated that forces would stay in Gaza, saying that captives would be returned while the Israeli military would stay within Gaza's interior.

Netanyahu’s position appears to conflict with the requirement in Trump’s plan that Israeli forces completely pull out from Gaza. The group will seek reassurances that Israel will completely leave and that if Hamas gives up its arms, Israeli troops will not return to the strip.

Negotiators will have to bridge these differences, securing clear, strict language regarding giving up weapons from the group. They must also demonstrate to the faction that the Israeli government will genuinely withdraw from the territory and that there are international guarantees that will force the Israeli state to comply to the terms of the agreement.

The differences might be resolved, and the United States will certainly push the two sides to reach a deal. However, negotiations have got close to an agreement before abruptly failing multiple times over the last 24 months, leaving both parties wary of celebrating before pen is on paper.