Israel-Gaza live updates: Hamas publishes names of 20 living Israeli hostages to be released

Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, and Jared Kushner were scheduled land in Egypt on Wednesday to join talks aimed at finalizing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, according to an official familiar with their travel plans.

The pair were expected to depart for the Middle East on Tuesday, the official said.

Another official said that Witkoff and Kushner have been closely following the progress of the talks from afar and frequently communicating with mediators. Those indirect talks began on Monday.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said, "We are very close to making a deal on the Middle East that will bring peace."

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston and Joe Simonetti

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will head to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to join the ongoing peace negotiations on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X.

Al Thani’s participation "comes at a critical stage of the talks, reaffirming the determination of the mediators to reach an agreement that would bring an end to the catastrophic war in the Gaza Strip," the spokesperson said in the post.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday couldn’t say what specific guarantees he’s been given from Israel that they won’t resume offensive strikes after the hostages still held by Hamas are released. He only said the U.S. has "a lot of power" to make sure the potential peace deal is adhered to.

"We are very close to making a deal on the Middle East that will bring peace," Trump said in remarks Tuesday.

In the two years since Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack on Israel, at least 67,173 Palestinians have been killed and 169,780 others wounded in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

"Among those killed are 20,179 children, 10,427 women, 4,813 elderly people, and 31,754 men," the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Of the 38 hospitals in Gaza, 25 are now out of service, leaving only 13 still in partial operation, according to the ministry.

The first round of peace talks -- taking place in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh -- lasted four hours and are still ongoing, a spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry said in a press conference in Doha on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said at a Cairo press conference that an American delegation headed by presidential envoy Steve Witkoff will join talks aimed at a truce in Gaza and hostage and prisoner exchange on Wednesday.

-ABC News' Diaa Ostaz and Nasser Atta