A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on Friday.
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that both Israel and Hamas had "signed off" on the first phase of a peace plan in Gaza following negotiations in the Egyptian Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh. A ceasefire then came into effect on Friday.
Phase one of the deal will see all remaining hostages returned from Gaza, a number of Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails and the partial withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces inside the strip.
Ron Dermer, Israel’s lead negotiator and one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest advisers, has arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for indirect ceasefire talks, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, and Jared Kushner were scheduled land in Egypt on Wednesday to join talks aimed at finalizing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, according to an official familiar with their travel plans.
The pair were expected to depart for the Middle East on Tuesday, the official said.
Another official said that Witkoff and Kushner have been closely following the progress of the talks from afar and frequently communicating with mediators. Those indirect talks began on Monday.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said, "We are very close to making a deal on the Middle East that will bring peace."
-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston and Joe Simonetti
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will head to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to join the ongoing peace negotiations on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X.
Al Thani’s participation "comes at a critical stage of the talks, reaffirming the determination of the mediators to reach an agreement that would bring an end to the catastrophic war in the Gaza Strip," the spokesperson said in the post.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday couldn’t say what specific guarantees he’s been given from Israel that they won’t resume offensive strikes after the hostages still held by Hamas are released. He only said the U.S. has "a lot of power" to make sure the potential peace deal is adhered to.
"We are very close to making a deal on the Middle East that will bring peace," Trump said in remarks Tuesday.
