Trump is sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his top aide Steve Witkoff to attend the negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Cairo.
With Gaza peace plan, proposed by US President Donald Trump, moving forward, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hopeful of getting all the hostages freed from Hamas captivity. The Trump-brokered truce between Hamas and Israel has set the stage for negotiations in Egypt between the two sides with hostage exchange and ceasefire being the main agenda.
Trump warned Hamas of causing any delays and said he would "not tolerate delay" as he urged the group to move quickly towards a deal "or else all bets will be off".
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least 70 people. These strikes come despite Trump's warning to Tel Aviv to "stop the bombing."
Ceasefire talks in Cairo
On Sunday, negotiators were converging on Cairo for talks to end nearly two years of war in Gaza, news agency AFP reported. Israel has expressed hope that the hostages in Hamas captivity would be released in a matter of days.
The talks are being held after Hamas agreed to Trump's peace plan and roadmap for freeing the captives and administering post-war Gaza.
White House said that two envoys from Trump administration will be joining the talks in Cairo. His son-in-law Jared Kushner and his main Middle East negotiator Steve Witkoff are scheduled to attend the negotiations.
Trump's ‘now or never’ line
On Saturday, Trump shared on his Truth Social the photograph of the massive rally in Tel Aviv where tens of thousands had gathered for the release of hostages in Hamas captivity. The crowd held a huge banner that read “It’s now or never.”
Trump also said that Israel has agreed to an initial withdrawal line following negotiations over Gaza ceasefire, and that this proposal has been shared with Palestinian militant outfit Hamas. Trump said that once Hamas confirms the arrangement, a ceasefire will take effect immediately, resulting in both a hostage and prisoner exchange.
Israel continues to bomb Gaza
News reports said that at least 70 people, including children, were killed in Gaza on Saturday in Israel strikes despite Trump's demand for Israel to stop "immediately stop bombing" Gaza after Hamas agreed to Trump's Gaza peace plan.
Israel said it had targeted a Hamas militant who had posed a threat to its troops in the area.
The military "regrets any harm caused to uninvolved civilians and works to mitigate harm to uninvolved civilians as much as possible," Israel said in a statement.
Netanyahu reaffirms stand to disarm Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had ordered negotiators to Egypt "to finalise the technical details", while Cairo confirmed it would also be hosting a delegation from Hamas for talks on “the ground conditions and details of the exchange of all Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners”, AFP reported.
“I hope, with G-d's help, that in the coming days, during the Sukkot holiday, I will be able to inform you about the return of all our hostages, both living and deceased, in one phase, while the IDF remains deep within the Strip and in the controlling areas within it,” he said.
Reaffirming the resolve to get disarm the Hamas, Netanyahu said, “In the second stage, Hamas will be disarmed and the Strip demilitarized.”
“This will happen either via a diplomatic route according to the Trump Plan – or via a military route by us. I also said this in Washington: Either it will be achieved the easy way, or it will be achieved the hard way – but it will be achieved,” he said.
