Israel eases Gaza strikes as Trump hails Hamas hostage offer
Israel reined in its offensive in Gaza and prepared for talks with Hamas after U S President Donald Trump hailed the militant group s offer to release all hostages as a breakthrough in his bid to end the two-year war Israel was preparing to forthwith implement the first phase of Trump s plan for the immediate release of all hostages Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s office commented on Saturday Trump reported in a social post Saturday that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in Gaza and warned Hamas that it must move promptly or else all bets will be off Israel will start mediated negotiations with Hamas on Sunday an Israeli official familiar with the matter stated That is after the Palestinian militant group explained it desired to discuss parts of Trump s -point plan to end a conflict that has devastated Gaza and destabilized the wider Middle East The official did not stipulate if the release of hostages was conditional on their outcome U S special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner Trump s son-in-law were traveling to Egypt on Saturday to finalize the details of the peace negotiations a White House official mentioned confirming an earlier record by Axios Details on what Trump s plan would entail remain scarce His latest comment shifts the onus back to Hamas after the group disclosed its declaration late Friday prompting Trump to urge Israel to directly stop the bombing of Gaza so that we can get the Hostages out safely and speedily I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE Trump reported in a social media post after Hamas responded to his administration s plan communicated on Monday Israeli assets have jumped on the prospect of peace in Gaza The shekel was the best-performing currency last week among a basket of around major units tracked by Bloomberg rising against the dollar to its strongest level since There s still plenty of uncertainty Trump s call for an immediate ceasefire may prove tricky for Netanyahu politically given that specific of his far-right Cabinet members will be wary about further talks with Hamas The group designated a terrorist organization by the U S European Union and others didn t agree to a few key stipulations in Trump s plan including that it disarm and have nothing to do with postwar governance in Gaza Iran-backed Hamas triggered war by attacking Israel from Gaza on Oct killing people and abducting another Of those remain in Gaza and Israel believes around are still alive Hamas mentioned the handover of hostages would be contingent upon the necessary field conditions for carrying out the exchange Israel s army which controls around of the Gaza Strip was assuming a defensive posture by Saturday according to the Israeli official who requested not to be identified by name discussing private matters Palestinian onlookers described the fighting as largely subdued Still shelling continued in Gaza City the enclave s de facto capital that s the focus of a weekslong Israeli advance More than Gazans have been killed in the war according to the Hamas-run healthcare ministry in the territory The conflict has devastated Gaza and sparked a humanitarian emergency with a United Nations-backed body declaring famine in part of the enclave Israel has lost more than soldiers in Gaza combat We will enter into negotiations over all matters related to the U S plan senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk informed Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV on Saturday when appealed if the group was ready to disarm and accept the exile of its leaders and fighters The movement has already announced that on the day that a sovereign Palestinian state is created it won t be an armed movement and it will hand over its weapons to this state Israel has strenuously mentioned it won t allow for an independent Palestine arguing it would pose a assurance threat to the Jewish state Abu Marzouk explained much of Trump s plan mainly clauses about the future governance of Gaza needed to be addressed with other Palestinian factions too It may take months to finalize everything he noted Trump disclosed there were details to be worked out suggesting he was willing to give Hamas specific leeway Netanyahu had previously insisted that Israel s offensive would continue during any negotiations For Trump a truce in the coming days and the freeing of the hostages could boost his campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize with the next winner being broadcasted on Oct Bloomberg has released that the president s residents and behind-closed-doors push to get the award has intensified in current days In its response Friday Hamas declared parts of Trump s plan require a unified national stance and must be addressed based on relevant international laws and resolutions There was also no mention of a proposal for a Board of Peace headed by Trump and involving other world leaders including former U K Prime Minister Tony Blair to oversee and supervise a transitional technocratic governance committee made up of Palestinians Arab nations had put strong pressure on Hamas to agree to Trump s proposal Egypt and Qatar both voiced approval of the Hamas comment with Qatar which has served as a mediator in previous rounds of talks saying Trump s push could lead to rapid results that would put an end to the bloodshed of Palestinians Now the ball is back in Netanyahu s court noted Yousef Munayyer head of the Palestine-Israel initiative at the Arab Center in Washington They desired the White House to treat this as take-it-or-leave-it And this suggests that Trump is not ready to leave it
