Cairo Talks Advance U.S. Gaza Ceasefire Plan as Hamas Agrees to Free Hostages and Israel Demands Their Return

Overview

• Hamas says it accepted core elements of the U.S. proposal and is prepared to release all 47–48 captives, including bodies, while entering mediated talks.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not proceed with the broader ceasefire until every hostage is home and signals forces will remain in Gaza even as the army prepares an initial repositioning.
• The White House pressed for an immediate halt to airstrikes to enable safe transfers, set a Sunday deadline, and dispatched envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to support Cairo talks.
• Egyptian-led sessions bring Israeli and Hamas delegations into indirect technical discussions on the swap, prisoner lists, and maps for staged Israeli withdrawals.
• Key disputes persist over immediate disarmament and Hamas’s exclusion from Gaza’s future administration, and Hamas says a 72-hour deadline to return all hostages is unrealistic as strikes continue causing new deaths.