Israel to join Cairo talks on Gaza truce and hostage release, Israeli official says

JERUSALEM (Reuters): An Israeli delegation will take part in the latest round of negotiations in Cairo aimed at reaching a truce in the Gaza conflict and a hostage release deal, an Israeli government official said on Sunday.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said on Sunday that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire after six months of war against Hamas in Gaza until the hostages being held in Gaza are released.

His comments made at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting came as the new round of truce talks in Egypt were set to begin.

Netanyahu said that despite growing international pressure, Israel would not give in to “extreme” demands from Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas, which sparked the war on Oct. 7 with its deadly attack on southern Israel.