Negotiators were converging on Cairo yesterday ahead of talks aimed at ending two years of war in Gaza, with the Israeli prime minister 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 road map for freeing the captives and administering postwar Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said that he had ordered negotiators to Egypt “to finalize 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.”
Photo: Reuters
Egyptian state-linked media had previously reported that the warring parties would hold indirect talks yesterday and today.
Trump also dispatched two envoys to Egypt on Saturday, sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his special envoy Steve Witkoff, the White House said.
Trump said he would “not tolerate delay” from Hamas, urging the group to move quickly toward 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 today and runs for one week.
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