Trump sends envoy Witkoff, Kushner to Egypt as Netanyahu eyes hostage release under Gaza peace plan

US President Donald Trump has dispatched his son-in-law Jared Kushner and senior envoy Steve Witkoff to Egypt to begin ceasefire negotiations, the White House said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope of returning all remaining hostages home soon.

A White House official said the envoys will finalise technical details of a hostage release and discuss a long-term ceasefire, a day after Hamas agreed to free hostages under Trump’s 20-point peace plan. Speaking to Axios, Trump said, “We are very close” to reaching a deal and is pushing to finalise it in the coming days.

Egypt will also host delegations from Israel and Hamas on Monday to discuss the proposed exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

The talks come a month after Israel disrupted previous ceasefire efforts with an airstrike in Qatar that killed six Hamas negotiators.

Trump’s call for restraint and Israeli airstrikes

Despite Trump’s call for restraint, Israeli airstrikes on Saturday killed dozens of Palestinians, local reports said. According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, at least 17 civilians — mostly women and children — died in an airstrike on a home in Gaza City’s al-Tuffah neighbourhood, with around 20 others missing under the rubble.

Earlier, Israeli drones struck a gathering near a bakery and targeted several houses in al-Mawasi, an area previously declared a “safe zone” by Israel.

Hamas condemned the strikes, saying, “The continuation of the occupation’s bombing and massacres exposes Netanyahu’s lies about reducing military operations against civilians.”

Israeli army radio said operations would now be limited to “the minimum,” focusing only on defensive strikes. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said he appreciated Israel’s decision to temporarily pause the bombings.

Netanyahu and Trump push for deal

In a televised address, Netanyahu said, “I hope that in the coming days we will be able to bring back all our hostages… during the Sukkot holidays.” He added, according to The Guardian, “Hamas will be disarmed — either diplomatically via Trump’s plan or militarily by us.”

Trump said Israel has agreed to an initial withdrawal line coordinated with Hamas, after which the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange would begin. He told Axios, “We had great receptivity for our plan — every country of the world is in favour. Bibi is in favour. Hamas went a long way, they want to do it. Now we will need to close it.”

He also praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for pressuring Hamas to cooperate.

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza after Israeli campaign

Trump highlighted the humanitarian toll in Gaza, citing figures from the Gaza health authority showing at least 67,074 Palestinians killed and around 170,000 wounded, most of them civilians.

A UN commission and a leading association of genocide scholars have concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza — a charge Israel denies, asserting its actions are in self-defence.