<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hopes to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza &ldquo;in the coming days,&rdquo; as indirect talks with Hamas continue in Egypt on Monday on a new US plan to end the war. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a brief statement late Saturday, Netanyahu said he has sent a delegation to Egypt &ldquo;to finalize technical details,&rdquo; adding that &ldquo;our goal is to contain these negotiations to a time frame of a few days.&rdquo; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Netanyahu signaled there would not be a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, something Hamas has long demanded. &ldquo;(Doubters) told me it&rsquo;s too good to be true. It&rsquo;s true. And with God&rsquo;s help, it will happen very soon,&rdquo; he said. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The prime minister spoke after Hamas said it has accepted some elements of the US plan. President Donald Trump welcomed the militant group&#39;s statement but on Saturday warned that &ldquo;Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Israel&#39;s army said leaders instructed it to prepare for the US plan&#39;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.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still, an Israeli strike on Gaza City&#39;s Tuffah neighborhood killed at least 17 and injured 25 others, said Al-Ahli hospital director Fadel Naim. &ldquo;The strikes are still ongoing,&rdquo; Naim said. Israel&#39;s military said it struck a Hamas member and &ldquo;regrets any harm caused to uninvolved civilians.&rdquo; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiyah earlier Saturday said Israeli strikes killed five Palestinians across Gaza City. <h4 style="line-height: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Momentum ahead of war&rsquo;s anniversary</h4><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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&#39;s office said Israel was committed to ending the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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&rsquo;t authorized to brief the media. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The official also said Arab mediators are preparing for a comprehensive dialogue among Palestinians aimed at unifying their position toward Gaza&#39;s future. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful militant group in Gaza, said it accepted Hamas&rsquo; response to the Trump plan. The group had rejected the proposal days earlier. <h4 style="line-height: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Progress, but uncertainty ahead</h4><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages &mdash; around 20 of them believed to be alive &mdash; within three days. It also would give up power and disarm. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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&#39;t address the issue of Hamas demilitarizing, a key part of the deal. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli general and chairman of Israel&rsquo;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&#39;t lay down its arms.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Others said that while Hamas suggests a willingness to negotiate, its position fundamentally remains unchanged. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This &ldquo;yes, but&quot; rhetoric &quot;simply repackages old demands in softer language,&quot; said Oded Ailam, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.

Fire and smoke rises following an Israeli army shelling in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.

Middle East

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.

Netanyahu hopes to release hostages from Gaza 'in coming days'

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Sunday hinted at a breakthrough in the Middle East crisis, saying &quot;all are on board for something special,&quot; on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s visit to the White House. &quot;We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST,&quot; Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.&nbsp;&quot;ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!!&quot; Earlier Friday, Trump had told reporters in Washington &quot;I think we have a deal&quot; on Gaza. On the same day, addressing the United Nations, Netanyahu vowed to block a Palestinian state while also committing to &quot;finish the job&quot; against Hamas, days after Britain, France and other Western powers recognized a state of Palestine. Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Trump at the White House on Monday. Hamas carried out the worst-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally from Israeli official figures, in the deadliest day in the country&#39;s history. The Palestinian militants also took 251 hostages, of which 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.Israel&#39;s offensive has killed more than 65,549 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Americas

Trump hints at 'something special' in Middle East talks

YEMEN: Israeli strikes on Sanaa killed at least nine people and wounded more than 170 on Thursday, Yemen&#39;s Houthis said, a day after they launched a drone attack on southern Israel. AFP correspondents heard explosions and saw plumes of smoke rising from three locations in the Sanaa area, in the latest retaliatory attack since the Houthis began targeting Israel in the wake of the Gaza war. Israeli forces hit several Houthi-linked targets in the rebel-held capital, Israeli officials said, warning of more attacks to come. Houthi media said the targets included a detention facility. The Israeli military later said &quot;a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted&quot;, with sirens blaring in central Israel. Rescuers in Yemen were still searching for victims of Israeli strikes, which left &quot;nine martyrs and 174 wounded,&quot; Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi said in an updated toll on X. The Houthis&#39; Al-Masirah television channel, citing a security source, said Israel &quot;targeted one of the (security and intelligence) service&#39;s correctional facilities, which houses a number of prisoners and detainees&quot;. Al-Masirah earlier said that a power station and two residential neighbourhoods had been targeted, sharing pictures that showed low-rise buildings with bombed-out windows. One picture showed twisted metal and pieces of concrete filling the street as people looked on, with another photo showing people on the roof of a badly damaged building. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes &quot;dealt a powerful blow to numerous terror targets of the Houthi terror organization in Sanaa.&quot; They hit &quot;several military camps... eliminated dozens of Huthi terror operatives, and destroyed stockpiles of UAVs (drones) and weaponry,&quot; Katz said on X. The Israeli military said the targets included the Houthis&#39; general staff headquarters, as well as other security and intelligence sites, including some used to store weapons and &quot;plan and execute&quot; attacks on Israel. It added that the rebels&#39; &quot;military public relations headquarters&quot; was also targeted. The military statement warned Israel would &quot;conduct additional offensive operations against the Houthi regime in the near future.&quot; Failed interceptionThe Israeli strikes on Sanaa came moments before Al-Masirah began broadcasting rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi&#39;s weekly pre-recorded speech. The impact sites were cordoned off, an AFP correspondent said. The Houthi authorities have previously warned Yemenis against publishing footage of locations hit in strikes, describing it as &quot;a service to the enemy.&quot; On Wednesday, a drone attack claimed by the Houthis struck the southern Israeli tourist resort of Eilat after failed attempts by Israel&#39;s air defences to intercept it. Rescuers reported 22 wounded, including two in serious condition. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz warned of a severe response. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels began targeting Israel with missiles and drones, as well as attacking vessels they deem linked to the country, after the 2023 start of the Gaza war. The Houthis say they act in solidarity with Palestinians. Israel, in response, has carried out strikes in Yemen, mainly targeting infrastructure such as ports, power stations, and Sanaa&#39;s international airport. In August, Israel assassinated the head of the Houthi government, Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, together with other senior officials. Israeli strikes killed 46 people earlier this month, according to Houthi authorities. The dead include journalists working for the September 26 and al-Yaman newspapers, who were killed in an attack on Sanaa that targeted the Houthis&#39; military media operation.

Israeli strikes on Sanaa killed at least nine people and wounded more than 170 on Thursday, Yemen's Houthis said, a day after the rebels launched a drone attack on southern Israel.


Articles tagged with "palestine"

Netanyahu hopes to release hostages from Gaza 'in coming days'

Trump hints at 'something special' in Middle East talks

Israeli strikes kill 9 in Yemen's rebel-held capital: Houthis