Overview

• The opening phase centers on freeing the 48 remaining hostages — about 20 believed alive — in exchange for 250 prisoners serving life terms and roughly 1,700 Gaza detainees, with releases envisioned to start within 72 hours of a ceasefire under the U.S. plan.
• Hamas says it will release hostages and relinquish governing authority in Gaza but has not agreed to disarm, leaving a core demand of the plan unresolved.
• Israel’s team includes officials from Mossad and Shin Bet along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s advisers, while chief negotiator Ron Dermer is expected to join later this week depending on progress.
• Airstrikes continued in Gaza as talks opened, even as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said bombing must stop to enable hostage handovers.
• Egyptian and Qatari mediators, joined by U.S. envoys, aim to finalize comprehensive technical terms that could take days or longer, with Israeli far-right ministers threatening the coalition over any outcome that leaves Hamas and opposition leader Yair Lapid offering political cover to secure a deal.