TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. President Donald Trump is pressing Israel and Hamas to secure a settlement to the two-year conflict that has devastated Gaza and destabilized the Middle East, with the warring sides starting mediated negotiations.

A key sign of progress in the talks, taking place in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, will be whether Hamas frees all the roughly 20 of its live hostages — plus the remains of those who are dead — in return for Israel releasing about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Indirect discussions between negotiators about preparing the conditions for that exchange got underway on Monday, AlQahera News reported on its X account, citing unidentified individuals. Egyptian and Qatari mediators are working with both sides to establish an appropriate mechanis

See Full Page