Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he plans to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza “in the coming days,” as indirect talks with Hamas continue in Egypt on a new US plan to end the war.
In a brief statement on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu confirmed a delegation had been sent to Egypt “to finalise technical details,” aiming to “contain these negotiations to a time frame of a few days.”
However, he signalled there would be no full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a key demand from Hamas.
He added: “(Doubters) told me it’s too good to be true. It’s true. And with God’s help, it will happen very soon.”
The prime minister spoke after Hamas said it has accepted some elements of the U.S. plan. President Donald Trump welcomed the militant group’s statement but on Saturday warned that “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off.”
Trump also ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza. Some in Gaza City reported a notable easing of Israeli strikes Saturday, though hospital officials said at least 22 people were killed, including women and children.
Israel’s army said leaders instructed it to prepare for the U.S. plan’s first phase. Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike, said an official who was not authorized to speak to the media on the record.
Still, an Israeli strike on Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood killed at least 17 and injured 25 others, said Al-Ahli hospital director Fadel Naim. “The strikes are still ongoing,” Naim said. Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas member and “regrets any harm caused to uninvolved civilians.”
Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiyah earlier Saturday said Israeli strikes killed five Palestinians across Gaza City.
Trump appears determined to deliver on pledges to end the war and return all hostages ahead of the second anniversary on Tuesday of the attack that sparked it. His proposal unveiled earlier this week has widespread international support. On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said Israel was committed to ending the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The indirect talks on Monday are meant to prepare the way for the release of hostages from Gaza and Palestinians from Israeli detention, mediator Egypt said.
A senior Egyptian official said U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Egypt to head the U.S. negotiating team. The talks also will discuss maps showing the expected withdrawal of Israeli forces from certain areas in Gaza, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media.
The official also said Arab mediators are preparing for a comprehensive dialogue among Palestinians aimed at unifying their position toward Gaza’s future.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful militant group in Gaza, said it accepted Hamas’ response to the Trump plan. The group had rejected the proposal days earlier.
Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — around 20 of them believed to be alive — within three days. It also would give up power and disarm.
In return, Israel would halt its offensive and withdraw from much of Gaza, release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow an influx of humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction.
Hamas said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians. Its statement also didn’t address the issue of Hamas demilitarizing, a key part of the deal.
Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli general and chairman of Israel’s Defense and Security Forum, said while Israel can afford to stop firing for a few days in Gaza so the hostages can be released, it will resume its offensive if Hamas doesn’t lay down its arms.
Others said that while Hamas suggests a willingness to negotiate, its position fundamentally remains unchanged.
This “yes, but” rhetoric “simply repackages old demands in softer language,” said Oded Ailam, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
Still, two vocal members of the right-wing bloc of Netanyahu’s coalition, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, criticized the plan’s progress but didn’t threaten to immediately leave the government.
And some speakers at the weekly rally in Tel Aviv over the war expressed a cautious hope not heard for months.
A group representing some families of hostages said the prospect of seeing loved ones return “has never been closer.” They appealed to Trump to keep pushing “with full force” and warned that “extremists on both sides” will try to sabotage the plan.
Meanwhile, protests have erupted across Europe calling for the war’s end.
Palestinians in Gaza tried to piece together what the plan means in real terms.
“We want practical implementation. We want a truce on the ground,” said Sameer Qudeeh in Khan Younis. He worried that talks will break down again.
“I hope Hamas ends the war, because we are truly tired,” said Mohammad Shaat in Khan Younis, as anxious Palestinians roamed the shattered streets.
On Saturday, Israel’s army warned Palestinians against trying to return to Gaza City, calling it a “dangerous combat zone.”
Two residents said that since the morning, Israeli tanks and troops had not advanced but artillery shells and airstrikes were still heard.
“We can still see the quadcopters everywhere,” Mohamed al-Nashar said.
In southern Gaza, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said its Saraya field hospital received 10 bodies and over 70 injured after Israeli strikes on Saturday afternoon.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll in the war has topped 67,000. The toll jumped after the ministry said it added more than 700 names to the list whose data had been verified.
The Health Ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says women and children make up around half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
