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.
Progress has been made in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Sharm el-Shiekh, Egypt, an Israeli source and a source close to the negotiations told ABC News on Wednesday.
“Progress has been made in the talks. There are still differences, but the direction is positive,” the Israeli source said.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has invited President Donald Trump to attend the signing of a potential Gaza peace agreement once it is reached, a move that may signal progress in ongoing negotiations.
Sisi made his remarks during a televised address at a police academy in Cairo, adding that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived late Tuesday evening.
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
