Good evening. I'm John Yang. Israel continued bombarding parts of Gaza today, even as its

negotiators prepare for mediated talks with Hamas in Egypt aimed at a deal to exchange the remaining

hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. And that could be the first step toward ending

the war in Gaza. Leaving the White House this morning, President Trump was optimistic.

You could have peace, if you think about it.

Peace in the Middle East for the first time in, they say really, 3,000 years.

So I'm very honored to be a big part of that.

Appearing on ABC's this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio balanced optimism with the remaining

hurdles.

This is the closest we've come to getting all of the hostages released every single one,

all 48, including the 28 who were deceased, of course the 20 that are still alive.

But there's a lot of pitfalls along the way.

There's some work to be done here.

In Jerusalem, near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residents,

relatives of hostages kept up their pressure for a deal.

Now, when it's almost here, we feel it. We must not let this opportunity be damaged.

This historic agreement must not be

sacrificed again on the political altar, on the sovereignty of the prime minister, or on the chair

of his political partners, like the ministers in his government. The war began two years ago

this week after Hamas's bloody assault on Israel. Daniel Estrin is NPR's correspondent covering the Israel-Hamas war.

Daniel, what should we expect from these talks, especially from the Hamas side?

This is a pivotal moment, but there's not a lot of optimism that this is going to be done

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