The Latest: Israeli and Hamas officials meet in Egypt on a US peace plan for Gaza
Israeli and Hamas officials are meeting in an Egyptian resort Monday for indirect negotiations on a U.S. peace plan for Gaza.
The talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh will focus on the first stage of a ceasefire, including the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces as well as the release of hostages held by the militants in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention, according to a statement from Hamas.
U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are also expected to join the talks, Egypt’s state-run Al-Ahram reported.
The latest push for peace comes after Hamas accepted some elements of the U.S. peace plan, a move welcomed by Trump. Israel has said it supported the new U.S. effort. Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — about 20 believed to be alive — within three days. It would give up power and disarm.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 mostly civilians in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefire or other deals.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll in the war reached 67,160 on Monday. The ministry does not differentiate how many of those killed were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up about half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
Here's the latest:
Talks take place in Egypt as it marks anniversary of 1973 war with Israel
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Monday hailed Trump’s efforts to stop the war in Gaza.
“A ceasefire, the return of hostages and detainees, the reconstruction of Gaza, and the start of a peaceful political process leading to the establishment and recognition of a Palestinian state mean that we are on the right path toward lasting peace and solid stability,” he said.
He underscored importance of preserving the U.S.-crafted “peace system” in the Middle East since the 1970s, which he said “served as a strategic framework for regional stability.”
El-Sisi made the remarks in a televised address commemorating the anniversary of the Oct. 6, 1973, war with Israel that led to Egypt reclaiming the Sinai Peninsula, where Sharm el-Sheikh is located.
A wish for babies born on the day the war started
Palestinians in Gaza hope that babies born on the day the Israel-Hamas war began will be able to celebrate their second birthday to the sound of laughter and cheers instead of the cacophony of bombs, missiles and bullets.
Rola Saqer said the two years since giving birth to her daughter Masa have been full of suffering and misery.
Saqer said she was scared for Maza, who is weak and malnourished. Saqer and her husband, Mohammed Zaqout, live in a sparsely furnished tent in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
It’s much the same for Amal al-Taweel and her husband, Mostafa, who had their son Ali after three years of trying for a child. Now living in a tent inside an alley, Amal said Ali is being deprived of proper sanitation, food, vaccinations and even toys.
