Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm.

Representatives from Israel, the U.S., and Hamas are preparing for negotiations in Egypt.

Israel and Hamas say they've accepted the first phase of a peace plan the U.S. proposed to release all hostages.

But as NPR's Emily Fang reports, there are still questions about their acceptance of the next phases.

U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, confirmed NPR that he and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are also in Egypt,

which says it'll host Israeli and Hamas representatives starting Monday to hammer out the details of how to exchange remaining hostages for Palestinian prisoners

and detainees. But Hamas says it needs more details on how and when Israel's forces would

withdraw from Gaza. Last night, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the Israeli military

will, quote, continue to hold all areas controlling the depth of the strip and said Hamas would

have to disarm by diplomatic or military means, something the group has not explicitly agreed to.

Emily Fang and Pierr News Tel Aviv.

The government shutdown is now in its fifth day with no resolution in sight.

National parks across the country are trying to maneuver

around the lack of money. NPR's Alana Wise reports. Some parks have drastically reduced staffing,

some have called for outside funding, and some have closed completely. A contingency plan for the

park service says that park roads, lookouts, and trails will generally remain

accessible to visitors. But other services such as road and trail condition updates would not

be provided. At closed park locations, services will be stripped to the bone, meaning no trash

collection, restrooms, road maintenance, or visitor information. In the past, skeleton operations

have led to vandalism at parks, as well as major sanitation and ecological issues. As a result,

some park advocates have called for all parks to be closed into the shutdown concludes.

Alana Wise, NPR News. The U.S. Treasurer oversees the U.S. Mint says plans are

...