Hamas has agreed to release all Israeli hostages, but said in response that it wants further discussions on some aspects of the US Gaza peace plan. Meanwhile, Israel has issued new instructions to the army to limit military activity in the Gaza Strip to defensive operations only.
Israeli media reported that the Israeli political leadership has ordered the army to stop the “occupation” of Gaza City. Earlier, the US president gave Hamas until Sunday to “accept a peace plan” or “face hell.” In a social media post, Mr. Trump wrote that he believed Hamas was ready for peace and that Israel “must stop bombing Gaza.”
Hamas described Trump’s comments as encouraging, with a spokesman telling the BBC that they were ready to discuss prisoner exchanges, an end to the fighting and a withdrawal of troops from Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is preparing to immediately implement the first phase of Donald Trump’s plan.
The Israeli military chief held an overnight meeting with top military and intelligence officials, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
At the meeting, he instructed them to prepare in advance for the implementation of the first phase of Trump’s plan.
The statement said the safety of Israeli soldiers was “the top priority” and that the IDF had deployed all the capabilities of the Southern Command, which is overseeing the Gaza operation.
The Israeli Defense Forces statement did not mention any specific plans to reduce military activity in Gaza, but instead said that the troops would remain on high alert to respond to any threat at any moment.
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