People and rescuers helping to evacuate a woman on a stretcher from a building hit by an Israeli bombing in the Nusseirat Palestinian refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on July 6, 2025. (Credit: Eyad Baba/AFP.)
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington on Monday to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, who expressed hope for an agreement "this week" between Israel and Hamas for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian movement began Sunday evening in Doha, aiming for a cease-fire agreement and the release of hostages and prisoners, as Israeli attacks killed at least 82 Palestinians on Sunday and at least nine more during the night on Monday morning.
"The discussions focus on the implementation mechanisms" of the agreement and an "exchange" of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians detained in Israel, a Palestinian source close to the negotiations, which are conducted through mediators, told AFP.
Trump stated on Sunday that there was a "good chance" of reaching an agreement. "We have already released many hostages, but concerning the remaining hostages, a good number are going to be released. We think we will achieve that this week," he told reporters.
Before flying to the United States, where he landed this Monday morning, Netanyahu said that his meeting with Trump could "help advance this outcome that we all hope for."
The meeting between Trump and Netanyahu is not scheduled before 6:30 local time (10:30 p.m. GMT) and will take place without the usual presence of journalists, according to the White House.
The U.S. President is pushing for a new truce in Gaza, which is plunged into a catastrophic humanitarian situation after 21 months of the Israeli offensive, which has killed at least 57,418 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Gaza authorities. Some studies conducted by academics estimate that the actual human toll in the Gaza Strip has likely exceeded 100,000 Palestinian deaths, not counting the many missing whose bodies are trapped under rubble.
'Important mission'
Netanyahu stated that he had given his negotiators "clear instructions": to reach an agreement "under the conditions we have agreed upon." The Israeli leader deemed "unacceptable" on Saturday the "changes that Hamas seeks to make to the proposal" initially sponsored by the U.S. and transmitted through Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
According to Palestinian sources close to the discussions, the proposal includes a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release ten living hostages and return bodies of deceased captives in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained by Israel.
The changes demanded by the Palestinian movement, according to these sources, concern the modalities of the Israeli troops' withdrawal from Gaza, the guarantees it wishes to obtain regarding the cessation of hostilities after the 60 days, and the resumption of humanitarian aid distribution by the U.N. and recognized international organizations.
Netanyahu has an "important mission" in Washington, stated Israeli President Isaac Herzog after meeting with him on Sunday morning: "to advance an agreement to bring all our hostages home."
Out of the 251 people abducted during Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct.7, 2023, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli military.
An initial one-week truce in November 2023, followed by a second in January 2025, allowed many hostages to return in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained by Israel. On March 18, Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza, unilaterally breaking the ceasefire concluded two months earlier.
At least 82 Palestinians killed on Sunday
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces killed at least 82 people on Sunday, including 39 in the Gaza City locality alone, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera.
Additionally, at least 13 Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in a series of Israeli strikes targeting different regions of the enclave overnight, according to information from the Qatar-based media outlet.
On Friday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights reported at least 613 people killed during aid distributions in Gaza between May 26 and June 27, including 509 near the centers of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization supported by the U.S. and Israel.
At least 57,418 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since Oct.7, 2023, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry.
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