Israel, Hamas Begin Ceasefire Talks in Egypt as Trump Pushes for Hostage Deal

Delegations from Israel, Hamas, and the United States are set to begin ceasefire negotiations in Egypt on Monday, with President Donald Trump urging all sides to “move fast” to end the nearly two-year war in Gaza.

Both Israel and Hamas have responded positively to Trump’s proposal, which links an end to hostilities and the release of captives held in Gaza to the freeing of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.

Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya met Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo earlier in the day, ahead of broader discussions in Sharm El-Sheikh. Talks are expected to set the date for a temporary truce and begin the first stage of a peace plan involving the release of 47 hostages in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.

Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday, praising “positive discussions with Hamas” and allies, and adding: “I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hopes the hostages could be freed within days, while foreign ministers from Egypt and other countries described the negotiations as a “real opportunity” for a lasting ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that hostilities must pause for the talks to succeed. “You can’t release hostages in the middle of strikes, so the strikes will have to stop,” he told CBS on Sunday.

The White House confirmed Trump has dispatched his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to Egypt for the talks, which coincide with the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. Militants captured 251 hostages that day, 47 of whom remain in Gaza; Israel says 25 are dead.

Under Trump’s plan, Israel would release 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and more than 1,700 detainees arrested during the war in exchange for the hostages. The proposal also calls for a ceasefire within 72 hours, a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and Hamas’s eventual disarmament — a red line for the group.

Despite the diplomatic push, Israeli strikes continued Sunday, with Gaza’s civil defence agency reporting at least 20 deaths, mostly in Gaza City. AFPTV footage showed smoke rising over parts of the enclave, though residents said bombardments had eased since Sunday night.

Hamas insists on having a role in Gaza’s future governance, but Trump’s roadmap rules out any Hamas involvement, proposing instead a technocratic administration under a transitional authority led by Trump himself.

“We hope Trump will pressure Netanyahu and force him to stop the war,” said Ahmad Barbakh, a resident of Al-Mawasi. “We want the prisoner exchange deal to be completed quickly so that Israel has no excuse to continue the war.”

The October 2023 Hamas attack killed 1,219 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to official figures. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has since claimed at least 67,139 Palestinian lives, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose numbers the UN deems credible.

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