Negotiators due in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire, hostage release talks

Negotiators were converging on Cairo on Sunday ahead of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war in Gaza, with Israel’s leader expressing hope that the hostages still being held there would be released in a matter of days.

The diplomatic moves came after the Palestinian militant group Hamas responded positively to US President Donald Trump’s roadmap for freeing the captives and administering post-war Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday 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”.

Egyptian state-linked media had previously reported that the warring parties would hold indirect talks on Sunday and Monday.

Trump also dispatched two envoys to Egypt on Saturday, according to the White House, sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his main Middle East negotiator Steve Witkoff.

The US president warned he would “not tolerate delay” from Hamas, urging the group to move quickly towards a deal “or else all bets will be off”.

In a televised statement on Saturday, Netanyahu credited “military and diplomatic pressure” with compelling Hamas to agree to release the captives.

“I hope that in the coming days we will be able to bring back all our hostages… during the Sukkot holidays,” Netanyahu said, referring to the Jewish festival that begins on Monday and runs for one week.

On Friday night, Hamas had announced “its approval for the release of all hostages — living and remains — according to the exchange formula included in President Trump’s proposal”.

Trump immediately hailed the statement as evidence the group was “ready for a lasting PEACE”, calling on Israel to stop its bombing.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, insisted in his remarks on Saturday that “Hamas will be disarmed… either diplomatically via Trump’s plan or militarily by us”.

On Saturday night, crowds gathered in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to call for an end to the war and to urge Trump to ensure a deal was struck.

The talks will take place two days before the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the conflict.