Israel and Hamas prepared for indirect negotiations in Egypt on Monday, as hopes for a possible ceasefire in Gaza grew after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a hostage release could be announced this week.
President Donald Trump has welcomed the Hamas statement accepting some elements of the US peace plan. Israel has said it supported the new US effort. Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — about 20 believed to be alive — within three days. It would give up power and disarm, reports Reuters and AP/UNB.
The delegation led by top Israeli negotiator Ron Dermer will leave Monday for the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Netanyahu’s office said. An Egyptian official said the Hamas delegation had arrived. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief reporters, said US envoy Steve Witkoff is joining the talks.
Meanwhile, a Reuters report adds that Hamas on Friday accepted the hostage release and several other elements but sidestepped contentious points, including calls for its disarmament — which it has long rejected.
Trump welcomed Hamas’ response, saying he believed Hamas had shown it was “ready for a lasting PEACE.” He told Israel to stop bombing Gaza immediately, but its attacks on the enclave have continued.
An official briefed on the talks in Egypt said negotiators would focus on hammering out a comprehensive deal before a ceasefire can be implemented.
“This differs from earlier rounds of negotiations which followed a phased approach, where the first phase was agreed and then required more negotiations to reach subsequent phases in the ceasefire,” the official told Reuters.
STRIKES CONTINUE
The plan has stirred hopes for peace among Palestinians, but there was no let-up of Israeli attacks on Gaza on Sunday. Planes and tanks pounded areas across the enclave, killing at least 19 people, local health authorities said.
Four of those killed were seeking aid in the south of the strip, and five were killed in an airstrike in Gaza City in the early afternoon, they said.
Ahmed Assad, a displaced Palestinian man in central Gaza, said he had been hopeful when news broke of Trump’s plan, but said nothing had changed on the ground.
“We do not see any change to the situation; on the contrary, we don’t know what action to take, what shall we do? Shall we remain in the streets? Shall we leave?” he asked.
SOME IN ISRAEL OPTIMISTIC FOR END TO WAR
In a sign of Israeli optimism over the Trump plan, the shekel currency hit a three-year high against the dollar and Tel Aviv stocks reached an all-time high.
Some people in Tel Aviv shared that sentiment. “It’s the first time in months that I’m actually hopeful. Trump has really instilled a lot of hope into us,” said resident Gil Shelly.
Domestically, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is caught between growing pressure to end the war — from hostage families and a war-weary public — and demands from hardline members of his coalition who insist there must be no let-up in Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
Discussions will focus on the proposed exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, Egypt’s foreign ministry said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the situation “the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released.”
Rubio told CBS that Hamas should release hostages as they are ready, and that bombardment needs to end so they can be released.
The US plan also addresses Gaza’s future. In a text exchange with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Trump said there would be “complete obliteration” if Hamas stayed in power there. Trump also texted that Netanyahu was on board for ending the bombing and peace in Gaza but added, “soon on the rest.”
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Badrosian told journalists that Netanyahu is in “regular contact” with Trump and that the prime minister has stressed that the talks in Egypt “will be confined to a few days maximum.”
Anxious relatives of hostages gathered near Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, with some urging Trump to continue to apply pressure. Israel’s recent military offensive in Gaza City led many to fear for the hostages’ lives.
“We cannot allow such a historic agreement to be sacrificed again,” said Michel Ilouz, father of Guy Ilouz.
They also underlined their commitment to the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza, unifying Gaza and the West Bank and reaching an agreement leading to a “full Israeli withdrawal” from Gaza.
