US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Cairo today to lead high-level discussions aimed at implementing the first phase of President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan — beginning with what officials described as “the immediate release of all hostages.”
“Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Egypt later today to finalize the technical details of the hostage release and discuss the lasting peace deal,” a White House official confirmed.
President Trump praised Israel for pausing its military campaign to allow the negotiations to move forward. “I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again. Let’s get this done, FAST. Everyone will be treated fairly!”
According to Axios, the Cairo summit marks the formal launch of Trump’s 21-point Gaza peace initiative, which both Israel and Hamas have cautiously welcomed. Trump gave the terror group until Sunday at 6 p.m. to accept the plan, warning that if it refused, “all HELL” would break loose.
Israeli officials told Channel 12 News that of the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, about 20 are believed to be alive and could be released “within a few days.” The plan envisions a simultaneous exchange involving Palestinian prisoners, alongside a gradual IDF withdrawal under a temporary ceasefire.
Witkoff, who has served as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, previously helped negotiate the release of all surviving American hostages. He will be joined by Jared Kushner, who played a central role in brokering the Abraham Accords in 2020, normalizing Israel’s relations with several Arab nations.
“In light of the Hamas response [to the Trump peace plan], Israel is making preparations for the immediate implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan which is the immediate release of all of the hostages,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office said in a statement.
“We will continue to fully cooperate with the president and his team in order to end the war in accordance with the principles that Israel laid out and which are in line with President Trump’s vision.”
Trump reaffirmed his optimism on Friday, declaring that he believed Hamas was “ready for a lasting PEACE.” He added in a video statement, “This is a big day. We’ll see how it all turns out. We have to get the final word down and concrete. Very importantly, I look forward to having the hostages come home to their parents.”
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina expressed doubts that Hamas would honor the terms of the plan. “No disarmament, keeping Gaza under Palestinian control, and tying hostage release to negotiations, along with other problems,” Graham wrote on X. “This is, in essence, a rejection by Hamas of President Trump’s ‘take it or leave it’ proposal.”
From Doha, Mousa Abu Marzouk, who heads Hamas’s foreign-relations office, told Al Jazeera that the Trump plan’s requirement for the release of all Israeli captives within 72 hours was “theoretical and unrealistic under current circumstances.”
Among those still held are the bodies of two slain Americans, Itay Chen, 19, and Omer Neutra, 21.
Omer’s father, Ronen Neutra, said Friday that his family remained hopeful. “We’re hopeful that this is the beginning of the end, that Hamas gave a serious answer, that the threats of President Trump have echoed and they understand they have to give the hostages back and they’re not going to start fooling around with ‘We can’t do this, we can’t do that’ later on,” he said.
“But in general that’s the direction we hoped things would go, and we’re just going to sit and wait and hope for them to lay out the agreement together with Israel, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. And hopefully we can see our son back with the other 47 hostages,” he added.
Hamas stated that it would free the captives once “field conditions are met,” meaning after Israel halts deeper incursions into Gaza City. However, the group stopped short of agreeing to disarm or relinquish authority in Gaza to an international peacekeeping body headed by Tony Blair, the former British prime minister.
The proposed framework includes the deployment of an Arab-led stabilization force to maintain order as Israeli troops withdraw from the enclave.
According to Army Radio, Netanyahu has ordered the IDF to reduce its activity in Gaza City “to a minimum” and to restrict operations to defensive measures only.
Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that while Hamas had accepted the general outline of Egypt’s proposal, further talks were needed to define the details. “All details related to the peacekeeping force need understandings and clarification,” he said, adding that Hamas had agreed “in principle” to transfer administrative control of Gaza to an independent body backed by broad Palestinian support.
“The priority is to stop the war and massacres,” he said, while stressing that the group “would not accept threats or dictates.”
{Matzav.com}
