Israel and Hamas are set to begin mediated negotiations on Monday aimed at ending a two-year conflict that’s devastated Gaza and destabilized the Middle East, after US President Donald Trump hailed the militant group’s offer to release all hostages.

Egypt, a key intermediary in truce talks, said it would host delegations from both sides to discuss a possible exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were also traveling to Egypt to take part in the negotiations, which follow Hamas’s request to discuss some elements of the US president’s 20-point plan to end the war. An Israeli official said the military had assumed a defensive posture in Gaza City, while Hamas said airstrikes and shelling continued in the en

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