Netanyahu vows to bring back hostages in Passover message

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday reiterated his pledge to bring back the hostages still held in Gaza in a message marking the Jewish Passover holiday.

His comments came after US President Donald Trump suggested progress in hostage release talks, telling a cabinet meeting on Thursday that "we're getting close to getting them back".

In a video message for Passover -- a holiday celebrating the biblical liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt -- Netanyahu said "for many families there will be empty chairs".

"Together we will return our hostages, together we will defeat our enemies, together we will embrace our wounded, and together we will bow our heads in memory of our fallen," he added.

Israeli media reported Friday morning that Egypt and Israel had exchanged draft documents on a ceasefire-hostage release deal.

The Times of Israel reported that the Egyptian proposal would provide for the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies in exchange for a truce of between 40 and 70 days and a large number of Palestinian prisoner releases.

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Public broadcaster Kan reported that Netanyahu held a situation assessment late Thursday with the negotiating team and officials of the security establishment "against the backdrop of the new Egyptian plan".

Netanyahu's office said the prime minister also met with the families of hostages Elkana Bohbot and Rom Braslavski on Thursday, during which he said Israel was working towards returning the hostages and updated them on negotiations.

Palestinian militants took 251 people hostage during Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

A truce brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar that took effect on January 19 saw the return of 33 Israeli hostages, eight of them in coffins, in exchange for the release of around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel resumed intense strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, and the ceasefire collapsed.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Thursday that 1,522 have been killed since then, taking the overall death toll since the war broke out to 50,886.