Negotiators representing Israel and Hamas are scheduled to meet in Cairo on Monday to advance peace talks, with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff expected to attend. The discussions are focused on technical details regarding the release of hostages, Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said Sunday.
“These are technical talks. Israel’s government has agreed to the first phase of this deal, which is the release of all 48 hostages at once,” Bedrosian said. “As President Trump confirmed, it has been agreed to. Hamas, the terror organization, will need to release our hostages. Israel’s team of negotiators will be meeting in Egypt to iron out these very specific details on the first phase right now.”
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US pushes for swift resolution
Bedrosian added that the negotiations are expected to last only a few days, with Israel reiterating a 72-hour deadline for the release of hostages once details are finalized with Hamas.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that an agreement could be reached early this week, paving the way for the hostages to be released from Gaza.
“All those talks are occurring, even as I speak to you now, we’re hoping it will be finalized very quickly, early this week,” Rubio told ABC News. “And I’m hoping, you know again, who knows the timeline? But this cannot take weeks or even multiple days. We want to see this happen very fast.”
Violence continues
Meanwhile, multiple explosions were reported across the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning. Gaza medical officials said 18 people were killed and several others were injured. Israeli authorities stated that military operations in Gaza continue for defensive purposes.
“While certain bombings have actually stopped inside the Gaza Strip, there’s no ceasefire in place at this point in time, although there has been this temporary halt in certain bombings,” Bedrosian said. “The Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] has given orders, actually, for defense to fire back for defensive purposes, of course, if there is a threat to their life on the battlefield in Gaza.”
While Israel claims that any further bombing is purely defensive, a Gaza civil defense official said the bombardments are largely continuing unabated.
“The Israeli bombardment on Gaza continues with the same intensity and pattern –– air strikes, artillery shelling and quadcopter drone fire are ongoing,” said Mohammed Al Mughayyir.
The talks on Monday come one day before the second anniversary of the Hamas attack that killed approximately 1,200 Israelis. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s offensive has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians.
