Overview

• Three sources told Axios that a 45‑minute face‑to‑face in Sharm el‑Sheikh between Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and a Hamas team led by Khalil al‑Hayya was pivotal to clinching Hamas’s consent.
• Trump repeatedly phoned mediators to personally assure that Israel would not resume the war after releases, with Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish intelligence figures present during the late‑night talks.
• Implementation of the first phase has begun with a ceasefire, the release of hostages and 1,968 Palestinian detainees freed, including 250 serving life terms, while high‑profile figure Marwan Barghouti remains imprisoned.
• Israel set a deadline today for Hamas to return the bodies of 24 deceased hostages, as Hamas cites difficulties locating remains under rubble or held by other groups; a multinational recovery effort is under discussion.
• Hamas retains control in parts of Gaza and has not accepted enforceable disarmament, with reports and videos alleging summary executions of rivals, while unresolved governance and reconstruction plans draw criticism from Amnesty International for excluding Palestinian voices.