Israel continues Gaza bombardment as Trump plan negotiators arrive in Cairo | Gaza

Negotiators have arrived in Cairo before talks on Monday expected to focus on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, as Israel continued strikes on the Palestinian territory, killing 63 people in the last 24 hours.

The talks on Monday would focus on the first phase of Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, which is the release of the remaining 48 hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

The US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to join the talks, according to Israeli media, in addition to Israel’s negotiators and a Palestinian delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas.

The Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told journalists that talks in Egypt would be “confined to a few days maximum”.

Late on Sunday Trump said that talks were advancing rapidly, adding that the first phase “should be completed this week.”

“I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST,” Trump said in a social media post.

The hostage release and prisoner swap would mean an immediate end to fighting in Gaza, according to Trump. Since Hamas’s partial acceptance of his plan to end the nearly two-year war in Gaza on Friday, the US, Israel and Hamas have all said they believe a ceasefire is within sight.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the Cairo talks were “the closest we’ve come to getting all the hostages released” in an interview with ABC on Sunday. He warned that talks could still falter over logistics, however, and that details of the hostage release needed to be worked out.

Rubio said there were long-term challenges in implementing the deal, in particular the creation of a technocratic governing body to oversee Gaza in place of Hamas. He emphasised that the current priority was the hostages’ release and ensuring Israeli troops withdrew to an agreed upon line in Gaza.

Trump’s plan would mean Hamas releasing all hostages within 72 hours, surrendering ruling power to a transnational authority headed by the US president, and laying down its arms. In return, Israel would gradually withdraw its troops from Gaza and return more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. The deal would release a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, parts of which are in famine, as well as reconstruction funds.

On Saturday night, Trump shared a map of Gaza that delineated the initial withdrawal line of Israeli troops in Gaza, which ranged from 1.2 miles (2km) to 4 miles deep within the territory. He said if Hamas agreed to the withdrawal line, a ceasefire would begin immediately.

Israeli forces are meant to completely withdraw to a buffer zone at the edge of Gaza under the terms of the plan, although the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that regardless of any deal, troops would remain in most of Gaza.

Optimism about a potential ceasefire has grown across the world, with western and Arab leaders urging Hamas and Israel to come to a deal. On Sunday, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, called Netanyahu and expressed support for the Trump plan, describing it as “the best chance for peace”, according to a readout.

Israeli officials have also said they hope to announce an end to the war in the coming days.

A senior Hamas official told Agence France-Presse the group was “very keen to reach an agreement to end the war and immediately begin the prisoner exchange process in accordance with the field conditions”.

Trump threatened Hamas with “complete obliteration” if it did not reach a deal on Gaza in an interview with CNN. He also said Netanyahu was onboard for ending the bombing of Gaza.

Despite Trump’s request that Israel stop its assault and despite orders for the military to only conduct “defensive operations”, it has continued bombing the Palestinian territory. At least eight people were killed in separate strikes on Gaza City, while four other people were shot dead while seeking aid in the south of the strip.

“While certain bombings have actually stopped inside of the Gaza Strip, there’s no ceasefire in place at this point in time,” said Bedrosian.

At least 67,139 people have been killed and about 170,000 injured by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza ministry of health, which said roughly half of those were women and children. Israel launched the campaign in retaliation after an attack by Hamas-led militants that killed about 1,200 people and involved 251 others being taken hostage.

The UN commission of inquiry, several human rights groups and the world’s leading association of genocide scholars have concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Israel denies the accusation and says it has only acted in self-defence.