A total of 50 hostages remain in the Gaza Strip of the 251 people abducted by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people. Israeli authorities say 20 of the hostages are still alive. Hamas-run health authorities report over 57,000 Palestinian deaths since 2023 in the Israel's response.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would send its negotiating team to Qatar, this after Hamas said it had issued a "positive response" to a U.S.-mediated ceasefire proposal.

President Donald Trump has ramped up expectations around a possible 60-day ceasefire in the war in Gaza after he said Thursday that a response from Hamas was expected within the next day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week did not result in a ceasefire deal for the Gaza war, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts

Trump's meetings with the Israeli leader have brought no apparent breakthrough for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the bloodshed continues unabated.

As Israel and Hamas move closer to a ceasefire agreement, Israel says it wants to maintain troops in a southern corridor of the Gaza Strip — a condition that could derail the talks