All eyes are on Egypt as indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel on the war in Gaza are set to begin on Monday, with the US and Israel pushing for the swift release of hostages.The talks come after Hamas agreed to some parts of a 20-point US peace plan, including releasing hostages and handing over Gaza governance to Palestinian technocrats, but is seeking negotiations on other issues. The group’s response did not mention the key demands of its disarmament and playing no future role in Gaza’s governance.Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes continued in Gaza, despite President Donald Trump telling Israel to “immediately stop the bombing” on Friday after Hamas responded to the proposed plan.Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters on Sunday that “while certain bombings have actually stopped inside of the Gaza Strip, there’s no ceasefire in place at this point in time”.Bedrosian said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given orders “to fire back for defensive purposes… if there is a threat to their life in the battlefield in Gaza”.Reports from Gaza say Israel continued air strikes and tank fire overnight and into Sunday, destroying a number of residential buildings in Gaza City.A BBC correspondent heard explosions from inside Gaza and saw a plume of smoke while near the border in Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel, on Sunday morning.Another 65 people were killed by Israeli military operations in the 24 hours leading up to midday, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the BBC’s US news partner CBS News that bombing needs to stop to facilitate a hostage release.”You can’t release hostages while there’s still bombardments going on… that has to stop, but you also have to work through the other logistics,” he told CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday.”We want to get the hostages out as soon as possible,” he added.The 20-point plan proposes an immedia …
