Overview

• Egypt confirmed that delegations from Israel and Hamas will begin negotiations Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner present.
• President Donald Trump said Israel accepted an initial withdrawal line he proposed, pressed Hamas to act quickly, warned of "complete destruction" if it refuses to cede power, and signaled some room for changes to the plan.
• Israel has shifted to a defensive posture with orders to defend rather than attack except under threat, though limited strikes continued and the IDF maintains Gaza City is an active combat zone.
• The first phase will focus on logistics to exchange roughly 48 hostages, about 20 believed alive, for 1,700 Palestinian detainees and 250 serving life terms, with the International Committee of the Red Cross preparing to facilitate.
• Hamas has floated demands reported by regional media—full ceasefire, IDF pullback to January positions, pauses in air and drone sorties, and prisoner releases including senior figures—while Netanyahu insists no further clauses advance until all hostages are returned; a claim that Hamas began recovering bodies of dead hostages was later denied by the group.