President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday morning to join the negotiations over the deal to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas and end the war in Gaza that has now crossed the two-year mark.
Why it matters: Trump and his team are pushing hard for both Israel and Hamas to conclude their negotiations within days and reach a deal.
- The indirect talks between Israeli and Hamas negotiators started on Monday and have made some progress, but U.S. and Israeli officials have said the negotiations will reach crunch time only when Witkoff and Kushner arrive.
Driving the news: Trump met Tuesday with his top national security team to discuss the progress of the Gaza negotiations before Witkoff and Kushner departed for Egypt.
- Later on Tuesday, Trump met Edan Alexander, a U.S.-Israeli citizen who was held hostage by Hamas and was released several months ago.
- Trump also met with the family of U.S.-Israeli citizen Omer Neutra who was killed on Oct. 7 and whose body was taken to Gaza.
- Two sources who participated in the meetings said Trump told the families that the next 48 hours will be crucial for the efforts to reach a deal.
State of play: Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will also join the talks on Wednesday, along with the heads of the Turkish and Egyptian intelligence services. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's top adviser Ron Dermer will also attend.
- Senior U.S. officials expressed cautious optimism about the chances of reaching a deal this week and emphasized that Kushner and Witkoff won't leave Egypt without an agreement to release the hostages and end the war.
- "Bibi has done an excellent job. The military pressure was critical to make Hamas more pragmatic. But now Bibi must understand that the time for a deal has come," a senior U.S. official said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
