Airstrikes kill 63 in Gaza as negotiators arrive in Cairo to begin talks on ending two-year conflict

Negotiators have arrived in Cairo ahead of talks today expected to focus on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, as Israel continues striking the Gaza Strip, killing 63 people in the last 24 hours.

- William Christou

The talks would focus on the first phase of Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, which is the release of the remaining 48 hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners.

The US envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to join the talks, according to Israeli media, in addition to Israeli negotiators and a Palestinian delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas.

The Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told journalists that talks in Egypt would be "confined to a few days maximum".

The hostage release and prisoner swap would mean an immediate end to fighting in Gaza, according to Trump. Since Hamas's partial acceptance of Trump's plan to end the nearly two-year war in Gaza on Friday, the US, Israel and Hamas have all said they believe a ceasefire is within sight.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the Cairo talks were “the closest we’ve come to getting all the hostages released” in an interview with ABC yesterday. He warned that talks could still falter over logistics, however, and that details of the hostage release needed to be worked out.