At least six people died after Israel launched fresh strikes on Gaza on Saturday, hours after US President Donald Trump had called for a halt to the bombing. The strikes came even as Hamas agreed to release all hostages and accepted some terms in Trump’s plan to end the war.
According to the reports by Reuters, medical workers and local authorities said that one strike killed four people in a house in Gaza City, while another killed two others in Khan Younis in the south. Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel was preparing for an “immediate implementation” of the first stage of Trump’s Gaza plan for the release of Israeli hostages following Hamas’s response.
Shortly after, Israeli media reported that the country’s political echelon had instructed the military to reduce offensive activity in Gaza. Netanyahu’s office said Israel “will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set out by Israel, which align with President Trump’s vision.”
The Israeli military chief of staff had also instructed forces to advance readiness for the implementation of the first phase of Trump’s plan, without mentioning whether there would be a reduction of military activity in Gaza. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, responded to Trump’s 20-point plan after the US President gave the group until Sunday to accept or face grave consequences.
On Friday, Trump had said he believed Hamas had shown it was “ready for a lasting peace” and he put the onus on Netanyahu’s government. Israel began its offensive in Gaza after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage and brought back to Gaza. Israel says 48 hostages remain, 20 of whom are alive. Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 66,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, the report quoted Gaza health authorities.
