Netanyahu hopes to announce release of all hostages from Gaza 'in coming days'

Israel's army said leaders instructed it to prepare for the US 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 authorised to speak to the media on the record.

Still, an Israeli strike on Gaza City's Tuffah neighbourhood 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.

Momentum ahead of war's anniversary Trump appears determined to deliver on pledges to end the war and return all hostages ahead of the second anniversary on Tuesday of the Hamas attack that sparked it on October 7, 2023. His proposal unveiled earlier this week has widespread international support. On Friday, Netanyahu's office said Israel was committed to ending the war.

Monday's indirect talks 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 US envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Egypt to head the US 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 authorised 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, Gaza's second most powerful militant group, said it accepted Hamas' response after rejecting the plan days earlier.

Progress, but uncertainty ahead 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 didn't address the issue of Hamas demilitarizing, a key part of the plan.

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. Its 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, criticised 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 hostages' families 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.

Uncertainty among Palestinians Some Palestinians in Gaza worried that talks will break down again.

“We want practical implementation. We want a truce on the ground,” said Sameer Qudeeh in Khan Younis.

“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 there said that since the morning, Israeli tanks and troops had not advanced but artillery shells and airstrikes were 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 UN and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.