Gaza peace plan
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a negotiating team from Israel will travel to Egypt to discuss a potential Gaza deal, as indirect talks with Hamas gained momentum under a new US-brokered peace plan. “I have instructed the negotiating team to go to Egypt to finalise the technical details. The intention is to limit the negotiations to a few days,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement on Saturday, without specifying when the talks would begin, reported AFP. He added that he hoped to announce the release of all hostages from Gaza “in the coming days.” His comments came shortly after a White House official confirmed that two US envoys were heading to Egypt to coordinate discussions on the release of hostages and implementation of the American peace proposal aimed at ending the nearly two-year-long war.In a strong message, Netanyahu also vowed to disarm Hamas, saying the move would take place either through Trump’s peace plan or by military action. “Hamas will be disarmed … it will happen either diplomatically via Trump’s plan or militarily by us. I also told Washington that. It will be achieved either the easy way or the hard way, but it will be achieved.”Israel on Saturday pounded Gaza with overnight striks, killing several people in Gaza City, according to local officials. Netanyahu’s office later said Israel was preparing for the “immediate implementation” of the first stage of Trump’s Gaza peace plan following Hamas’s positive response to the US proposal. On Friday, Trump issued an ultimatum to Hamas to accept the peace plan by Sunday, 6 pm (Washington DC time), warning that “all hell, like no one has ever seen before,” would follow if the deadline was not met. The proposal outlines a phased process, beginning with the release of Israeli hostages, followed by a ceasefire and broader peace framework. Responding to Trump’s ultimatum, Hamas said on Friday that it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, both alive and deceased, under the terms of the US plan. The group said it was ready to enter mediated negotiations to finalise the details, declaring its approval “to release all Israeli prisoners, both living and dead, according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal,” provided the necessary conditions are met. Trump welcomed the announcement, saying Hamas had shown it was “ready for a lasting PEACE,” and urged Israel to halt its air campaign. “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “We are already in discussions on details to be worked out. This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East.” Despite Hamas’s apparent willingness to proceed, Israeli airstrikes continued overnight on Saturday, killing several people in Gaza City, according to local officials. Netanyahu’s office later said Israel was preparing for the “immediate implementation” of the first stage of Trump’s Gaza peace plan following Hamas’s positive response to the US proposal.
