Overview

• Negotiating teams convene in Egypt to finalize technical steps for swapping 48 Israeli hostages, including the dead, for large-scale Palestinian prisoner releases under the U.S. plan.
• Hamas offers a conditional yes to freeing all captives, rejects disarmament, and insists Israel stop military activity across Gaza and withdraw from Gaza City before transfers begin.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expresses hope hostages could return within days but says Israeli forces will remain deep inside Gaza and hold key positions.
• Israeli strikes were reported to continue despite President Trump’s public call for an immediate halt to enable safe transfers, highlighting a disconnect with battlefield conditions.
• The White House says Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are in Egypt for the talks as experts caution the 72-hour schedule and later phases could slip over disputes on withdrawal terms and Hamas’s future role.