US envoys head to Egypt for Gaza ceasefire talks as Trump says ‘we are very close’ to deal

US president says he will push to finalize agreement in the coming days even as scores of Palestinians killed in latest Israeli attacks

Donald Trump's son-in-law and a senior envoy are heading to Egypt to begin ceasefire negotiations, the White House has said, as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he hoped to bring all remaining hostages home in the coming days.

A White House official said the US president was sending his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, to Egypt on Saturday to finalise the technical details of a hostage release and discuss a lasting ceasefire deal a day after Hamas said it was ready to free hostages under Trump's plan to end the two-year-old war. In an interview, Trump said we are very close" to reaching an agreement.