Egypt will host negotiators from Israel and Hamas on Sunday for talks aimed at securing the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners, as part of US President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the war in the territory.
In a statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, and US envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to arrive in Cairo to help finalize an agreement for the release of hostages captured during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The move follows what officials described as a “positive response” from Hamas to Trump’s roadmap, which outlines steps for freeing captives and governing post-war Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed his negotiating team to travel to Egypt for the discussions.
Al-Qahera News, a television channel closely linked to Egypt’s intelligence services, reported that delegations from both sides “have begun moving to launch talks in Cairo tomorrow and the day after, to discuss arrangements for the exchange of all detainees and prisoners, in accordance with Trump’s proposal.”
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed it would host both delegations on Monday to continue discussions on the US initiative, which seeks to end the conflict and establish a transitional administration for Gaza. According to the ministry, the talks will “focus on field conditions and the details of exchanging all Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners, in line with the US president’s proposal.”
Trump warned he “will not tolerate any delay” in implementing his plan, which calls for the release of hostages within 72 hours, a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and other factions, and the formation of a technocratic governing body supervised by a transitional authority chaired by Trump himself.
He added that Israel had agreed to “an initial withdrawal line that we presented to Hamas,” attaching a map showing a yellow demarcation line running between 1.5 and 3.5 kilometers inside Gaza, along the border with Israel.
