jordan pulse -

Cairo hosts negotiators from Israel and Hamas on Sunday to discuss the release of hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel, as part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in the Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope that the hostages would return within days.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff are also arriving in Egypt to finalise the deal for the release of hostages held since Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

These diplomatic efforts come two days after Hamas announced its readiness to release the hostages under Trump’s proposal to end the war, which is nearing its third year.

In Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Saturday he instructed his negotiating team to head to Cairo — the mediator in this file — to “finalise the technical details.”

According to Cairo News Channel, Hamas and Israel will hold indirect talks in Cairo on Sunday and Monday to “arrange field conditions for the exchange process of all hostages and prisoners under Trump’s proposal.”

Trump warned he “will not tolerate any delay” in implementing his plan, which calls for a ceasefire and the release of hostages within 72 hours, Israel’s gradual withdrawal from Gaza, disarmament of Hamas and other factions, and administration of the Strip by a technocratic body overseen by a transitional authority chaired by Trump himself.

Later Saturday, Trump said Israel had agreed to “an initial withdrawal line we presented to Hamas,” attaching a map showing a yellow-marked withdrawal zone inside Gaza, 1.5 to 3.5 kilometres from Israel’s border.

“Once Hamas confirms its approval of this withdrawal line, the ceasefire takes effect immediately, the hostage-prisoner exchange begins, and conditions are set for the next phase of withdrawal,” Trump said.

Despite the US president’s calls to stop, Israel continued strikes on Gaza, with civil defence reporting around 70 people killed on Saturday.

In a televised address, Netanyahu said he hopes all hostages will return “in the coming days… during the Sukkot holiday,” which begins 6 October and lasts a week.

Hamas had responded Friday by announcing its “agreement to release all Israeli captives — alive or dead —” and readiness to “immediately begin negotiations” on the details.

While Hamas agreed to hand over all hostages and allow governance of Gaza by an independent body, it insisted on discussing further issues concerning the Strip’s future.

Trump said Friday that Hamas appeared “ready for lasting peace,” urging Israel to “stop bombing Gaza immediately so we can release the hostages quickly and safely.”

However, Israel launched dozens of new strikes on Gaza on Saturday.

Although Hamas made no mention of disarmament, Netanyahu vowed to strip the movement of its weapons “either diplomatically through Trump’s plan or militarily by our own hands.”

Earlier optimism about a breakthrough toward ending the war gave way to despair in Gaza, where humanitarian conditions have worsened to the point that the UN declared famine in August.

The death toll from Israel’s assault on Gaza has risen to 67,074 with 169,430 wounded since 7 October 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which added 720 newly verified deaths to the cumulative count after confirming their records through the judicial committee overseeing missing persons reports.