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Tel Aviv, Israel: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hopes to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza “in the coming days” as indirect talks with Hamas continue in Egypt on Monday on a new US plan to end the war.
In a brief statement late Saturday (Sunday AEDT), Netanyahu said he has sent a delegation to Egypt “to finalise technical details,” adding that “our goal is to contain these negotiations to a timeframe of a few days.”
He spoke after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of the US plan. President Donald Trump welcomed the Hamas statement but on Saturday warned that “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off.”
Earlier Saturday, a hospital official said Israeli bombing of Gaza City had “significantly subsided,” though at least five Palestinians were killed.
Israel’s army meanwhile said the country’s leaders had instructed it to prepare for the first phase of the U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza.
The families of hostages and their supporters gather in Tel Aviv in August.Credit: Amit Elkayam/The New York Times
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. The official said no forces have been removed from the territory.
Still, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiyah told the AP that Israeli strikes killed five Palestinians across Gaza City, while bombing had “significantly subsided.”
The army statement came hours after President Donald Trump ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza once Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan. Trump welcomed the Hamas statement but on Saturday warned that “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off.” He noted that Israel had “temporarily stopped the bombing.”
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.
Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.Credit: Getty Images
On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said Israel was committed to ending the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Netanyahu is under increasing pressure to end the conflict. The official told the AP that Netanyahu put out the rare late-night statement on the Sabbath, saying that Israel has started to prepare for Trump’s plan due to pressure from the US.
The official also said a negotiating team was getting ready to travel. Egypt’s state-run broadcaster Al-Qahera News, which is close to security agencies, reported that indirect talks between Hamas and Israel will start Sunday.
A senior Egyptian official said U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Egypt to head the U.S. negotiating team in the talks to release the Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli detention. 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 authorised to brief the media.
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