Negotiators due in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire, hostage release talks

Negotiators were converging on Cairo on Sunday ahead of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war in Gaza, with Israel's leader expressing hope that the hostages still being held there would be released in a matter of days.

The diplomatic moves came after the Palestinian militant group Hamas responded positively to US President Donald Trump's roadmap for freeing the captives and administering post-war Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that he had ordered negotiators to Egypt "to finalise the technical details", while Cairo confirmed it would also be hosting a delegation from Hamas for talks on "the ground conditions and details of the exchange of all Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners".

Egyptian state-linked media had previously reported that the warring parties would hold indirect talks on Sunday and Monday.

Trump also dispatched two envoys to Egypt on Saturday, according to the White House, sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his main Middle East negotiator Steve Witkoff.

The US president warned he would "not tolerate delay" from Hamas, urging the group to move quickly towards a deal "or else all bets will be off".

In a televised statement on Saturday, Netanyahu credited "military and diplomatic pressure" with compelling Hamas to agree to release the captives.

"I hope that in the coming days we will be able to bring back all our hostages... during the Sukkot holidays," Netanyahu said, referring to the Jewish festival that begins on Monday and runs for one week.

On Friday night, Hamas had announced "its approval for the release of all hostages -- living and remains -- according to the exchange formula included in President Trump's proposal".

Trump immediately hailed the statement as evidence the group was "ready for a lasting PEACE", calling on Israel to stop its bombing.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, insisted in his remarks on Saturday that "Hamas will be disarmed... either diplomatically via Trump's plan or militarily by us".

On Saturday night, crowds gathered in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to call for an end to the war and to urge Trump to ensure a deal was struck.

The talks will take place two days before the second anniversary of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the conflict.

- Strikes continue -

Despite Trump's call for a pause in operations, Israel carried out deadly strikes across Gaza on Saturday.

"The death toll from the ongoing Israeli bombardment since dawn today stands at 57, including 40 in Gaza City alone," said Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the civil defence agency, a rescue organisation that operates under Hamas authority.

Israeli forces have carried out a sweeping air and ground assault in recent weeks around the city.

Mahmud Al-Ghazi, 39, a resident of Al-Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City, said "Israel has actually escalated its attacks" since Trump's call for a pause.

"Who will stop Israel now? We need the negotiations to move faster to stop this genocide and the ongoing bloodshed," he added.

The Israeli military said it was still operating in Gaza City and warned residents not to return there, adding that doing so would be "extremely dangerous".

- No role for Hamas -

A Hamas official said Egypt, a mediator in the truce talks, would host a conference for Palestinian factions to decide on post-war plans for Gaza.

In its response to the Trump plan, Hamas had insisted it should have a say in the territory's future.

Trump's roadmap stipulates that Hamas and other factions "not have any role in the governance of Gaza", while also calling for a halt to hostilities, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's disarmament.

Under the proposal, administration of the territory would be taken up by a technocratic body overseen by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

An AFP journalist in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi reported hearing celebratory cries of "Allahu akbar!" (God is greatest) from tents housing Palestinians as news of Hamas's statement spread.

"The best thing is that President Trump himself announced a ceasefire, and Netanyahu will not be able to escape this time... (Trump) is the only one who can force Israel to comply and stop the war," said Sami Adas, 50, who lives in a tent in Gaza City with his family.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 67,074 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.