Oct. 4: Trump: Israel agreed to Gaza withdrawal line, ceasefire in effect once Hamas ‘confirms’

Trump: Israel agreed to withdrawal line; once Hamas ‘confirms,’ ceasefire in effect

A map, posted online by US President Donald Trump on October 4, 2025, shows an initial withdrawal line that Trump says Israel has agreed to, and which has been sent to Hamas, for a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal in Gaza. (Truth Social)

US President Donald Trump posts on his Truth Social platform that Israel has agreed to an initial withdrawal line in Gaza, which has been shown to Hamas.

“When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal, which will bring us close to the end of this 3,000 YEAR CATASTROPHE. Thank you for your attention to this matter and, STAY TUNED!” Trump writes.

The initial withdrawal line, according to Trump’s map, shows Israel’s approximate lines of control in the Strip prior to the major Gaza City offensive, which began last month. At the time, the IDF held some 70% of Gaza’s territory.

It would mean that the IDF would continue to maintain a presence in southern Gaza’s Rafah and Khan Younis and large portions of the Strip’s north, along with its buffer zone in other parts of the territory.

Legal aid group says flotilla activists were roughed up, filmed in front of Israeli flags

Flotilla activists, including Greta Thunberg, are seen being transported to Israel after their vessels were intercepted by the IDF on October 2, 2025. (Foreign Ministry)

The Adalah legal aid organization, which is representing activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla in legal proceedings in Israel, says that an activist who was able to speak with one of Adalah’s lawyers stated that both she and fellow activist Greta Thunberg were videotaped standing in front of Israeli flags after being detained.

The Guardian reported a similar story earlier today based on correspondence between associates of Thunberg and the Swedish foreign ministry. An Israel Prison Service spokesman said the agency was “unaware of such an incident.”

According to Adalah, numerous activists have reported to the organization’s lawyers that they have been mistreated since their flotilla was intercepted on its way to Gaza earlier this week by the Israeli Navy.

Some participants have reported not receiving enough food, and some said on Friday that they had not received any food at all since being brought to the port of Ashdod, an Adalah spokesperson said.

Thunberg herself has complained of receiving insufficient food and water during her detention, according to the correspondence with the Swedish foreign ministry.

Other activists have told Adalah’s lawyers that they have been shoved, roughly handled, shoved to the ground, and even punched at some stage during the interception and detention.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg walks with a crowd of pro-Palestinian activists who arrived to greet the Global Sumud Flotilla at the port of the village of Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, September 7, 2025. (Yassine Mahjoub / AFP)

Many also stated they had been left in the sun sitting on their knees for hours during the course of Thursday, before being brought to a hearing in front of an immigration authority tribunal.

The pro-government news outlet Channel 14 reported that Ben Gvir visited Ketziot prison, where the flotilla activists are being detained on Thursday night, and said that they were being given the “minimum of the minimum” in accordance with the same protocols for security prisoners.

“We are in Ketziot prison, and as I promised, those flotilla members, supporters of terrorism, are here in a security prison,” Channel 14 reported Ben Gvir as saying.

“They receive conditions for terrorists here, for everything, terrorist sweatpants, terrorist conditions. This means, there is a minimum of the minimum, that’s what I promised and that’s how we are fulfilling it.”

Illustrative: Ketziot Prison in southern Israel. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Palestinian prisoners have repeatedly complained of being held in dire conditions since the outbreak of war following the Hamas atrocities on October 7, 2023, including receiving insufficient food; being kept in overcrowded cells with poor hygiene; outbreaks of scabies; being denied proper medical attention; and being subject to physical violence and psychological abuse, and humiliation.

Last month, the High Court of Justice ruled that the state, including the Israel Prison Service, which Ben Gvir has authority over, had failed to fulfill its legal obligations to adequately feed Palestinian security prisoners, and ordered it to take steps to provide such prisoners with enough food “to enable a basic existence.”

Chief rabbi: Coming days are fateful, pray that leaders make the right decisions

Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef at a menorah-lighting ceremony on the sixth night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, at the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv, December 30, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Chief Sephardic Rabbi David Yosef, at the start of a weekly homily delivered after the end of Shabbat, says the faithful “must pray that leaders make the right decisions.”

“The whole two years of the war will be decided in the coming days, and let us pray both that the hostages will return to good and peaceful lives, and also that Hamas will no longer be heard in our land,” he says, in remarks quoted by Ynet.

The final phrase is an allusion to the biblical prophecy that “the cry ‘Violence!’ will no more be heard in your land,” in which the Hebrew word for “violence” is a homophone for “Hamas.”

Anti-government protesters call for peace, hope this will be their last weekend in Gaza

Protesters crowd around Begin Gate in Tel Aviv calling for a deal to be finalized to end the war in Gaza and free the hostages held there, October 4, 2025. (Orna Naor/Israeli Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Speakers at the anti-government demonstration on Begin Road, outside the IDF headquarters, hail the renewed push to end the war in Gaza, as Israel and Hamas seem close to a ceasefire-hostage deal based on US President Donald Trump’s proposal.

Yotam Kipnis, who lost his parents in the Hamas massacre in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, says, “nothing will bring them back, but there is still so much that can be saved; if it can be saved, then it’s our duty to save it, in a deal.”

He quotes a speech he gave in April 2023 during a protest against the judicial overhaul: “We are the cannon fodder and the scapegoat that the government is willing to sacrifice on the altar of messianism.”

“Now, too, on October 4, the writing is on the wall. Now, even before the war ends, we need to think about the day after,” he says. “There will be peace between us and the Palestinians, because it has to happen. The only question is how much [blood] will be spilled until that happens.”

Rula Daoud, co-chair of Israeli-Palestinian socialist group Standing Together, also addresses the Begin Road protest.

“We, the Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel, join the demand to end the war, not just because we have no faith in the government, but because this is an unjust war being waged on our own people,” she says. “The struggle for humanitarian aid to Gaza is not just the struggle of Arab citizens, and the struggle to return the hostages is not just the struggle of the Jewish citizens.”

Mali Darwish, an activist who reads the names of remaining hostages at the end of the weekly Begin Road rallies, says that she is “optimistic that this time is the last weekend that I’ll read the names.”

US envoy Huckabee: Praying ‘ALL’ hostages released, Hamas ‘savages’ take Trump seriously and disarm

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee speaks at the Muni Expo 2025 conference in Tel Aviv, on July 15, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Writing on X, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says he is praying that “ALL hostages are released immediately & the savages of Hamas take Donald Trump seriously & lay down their weapons.”

His comments come as Israel’s negotiating team is set to head to Cairo to discuss details of the potential release of all the hostages held in Gaza.

Smotrich: PM agreeing to halt Gaza offensive ‘serious mistake,’ talks should be held under fire

Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich speaking at the Knesset plenum, Jerusalem, September 29, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/ Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is sharply critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for agreeing to halt the IDF’s offensive in Gaza so that details of the Trump plan for ending the war can be ironed out with Hamas during negotiations.

“The prime minister’s decision to halt the offensive in Gaza and to, for the first time, conduct negotiations without being under fire is a serious mistake,” says the far-right minister who heads the Religious Zionism coalition party.

He adds that the move is also “a sure recipe for Hamas stalling for time and a growing erosion of the Israeli position, both with respect to the release of the hostages in one go within 72 hours, and with respect to the central war goal of eliminating Hamas and completely demilitarizing Gaza.”

Ex-hostages urge protesters to keep demonstrating: ‘We don’t have the privilege to rest’

Freed hostage Gadi Mozes addresses a rally calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, April 5, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Speaking at Hostages Square, former hostage Gadi Mozes, who returned from Hamas captivity in January as part of the last Gaza ceasefire, says protesters “do not have the privilege to rest” after US President Donald Trump’s truce proposal picked up steam over the weekend.

“We do not have the privilege to rest — the protests are important,” says the 80-year-old, who was the oldest hostage to return alive. “Take to the streets or anywhere where you can have an influence.”

He says that for the first time since his release, he is hopeful for a deal.

“If both sides did indeed accept President Trump’s diktats… this is the time to cease fire and focus on bringing back all the hostages and ending the war,” he says. “For too long, it seemed like returning the hostages and ending the war were impossible. Now is the time to make the impossible possible.”

Omer Shem Tov, who was released in February, alludes to Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, marked by a fast on Thursday.

He says he asked for forgiveness “from everyone who is still there in the dark, the fear, the bombing, the thirst and hunger. They didn’t choose to fast.”

On Tuesday, Israelis will mark two years since the Hamas onslaught that sparked the war. Shem Tov says that for the captives, it will be “another day that feels like an eternity.”

“They’re not a finished story,” he says. “The only day we should mark for them is the day they return.”

Netanyahu: Hamas will be disarmed, Gaza demilitarized — ‘diplomatically or militarily’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a video statement on a potential agreement to secure the release of all hostages held in Gaza, October 4, 2025. (GPO screenshot)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, continuing his short video statement, argues that the only reason Hamas is willing to release all the hostages is military and diplomatic pressure.

He dismisses the claim, which he says is made by his critics, that “Hamas was ready a year or even two years ago to free all our hostages without a full [IDF] withdrawal from Gaza. That’s a complete lie,” he says. “What brought the change in Hamas’s stance was solely the military and diplomatic pressure we brought to bear.”

Netanyahu returns to an oft-used line that he withstood “enormous pressure” internationally and at home to end the war and give in to Hamas demands.

He thanks US President Donald Trump for his firm support and for joining in the strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.

He says in English that “it’s true; it’s for real” that Israel can get the release of all the hostages without withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. “With God’s help, it will happen very soon.”

Netanyahu says he told Israel’s negotiating team, led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, to head to Cairo to nail down the “technical details” of the hostage release.

” Our intention and that of our American friends is to limit this negotiation to a few days,” says Netanyahu. He notes that Trump has today said he won’t tolerate any Hamas delaying tactics.

In the second phase of the deal, says Netanyahu, “Hamas will be disarmed, and the Gaza Strip will be demilitarized.”

“It will happen either diplomatically, according to the Trump plan, or militarily, by us,” Netanyahu warns.

Netanyahu: I’m hopeful we’ll see the return of all the hostages in the next few days, even during Sukkot

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in a video statement released on October 4, 2025. (YouTube screenshot)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a short video statement that he hopes Israel will see the return of all the hostages held in Gaza in the next few days.

Israel is “on the brink of a very big achievement,” he says. “It’s still not final. We are working hard on it.”

“I hope that, with God’s help, in the coming days, even during the Sukkot holiday, we will be able to announce the return of all the hostages — the living and the slain, in one go, with the IDF still deployed deep in Gaza.” The week-long Sukkot festival begins on Monday evening.

Netanyahu blasts senior officials who argued that it would be impossible to get all the hostages back without leaving Gaza entirely.

Israel has recovered 207 hostages to this stage, he stresses.

“But I never gave up on the rest of the hostages. And I never gave up on the rest of the war aims,” he says.

Netanyahu says he coordinated, with US President Donald Trump, “a diplomatic move that turned the situation on its head,” while IDF troops were pressing into Gaza City. “Instead of Israel being isolated, Hamas will be isolated,” he says.

In the first stage, he says, all the hostages will be released and the IDF will redeploy to positions that allow it to continue to oversee Gaza.

White House shares story on Trump saying PM has ‘no choice’ but to be fine with Gaza plan

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) shake hands at the end of a press conference at which Trump set out a plan to end the war in Gaza, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 29, 2025. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

The White House’s “Rapid Response 47” account on X shares a report from Axios that quotes US President Donald Trump saying of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “He was fine with [the US plan for ending the war in Gaza]. He’s got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine.”

The post comes as Israeli television airs a speech from Netanyahu making the case for the plan to the Israeli public.

.@POTUS: "I said, 'Bibi, this is your chance for victory.' He was fine with it. He's got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine." https://t.co/O2uAV8PtIU

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 4, 2025

Hamas-run civil defense says 57 Gazans killed in Israeli strikes since dawn

Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense agency says Israeli bombardment has killed at least 57 people since dawn on Saturday, even after Israel, at US President Donald Trump’s urging, stopped offensive maneuvers in the Strip.

“The death toll from the ongoing Israeli bombardment since dawn today stands at 57, including 40 in Gaza City alone,” Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the Hamas agency, tells AFP.

The figures are not independently verified, and they do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The IDF paused offensive maneuvers in Gaza City amid a push by Trump to bring about an end to the war, but it is still conducting defensive operations in the Strip, including airstrikes against threats to forces.

President Herzog urges PM to act ‘in every way and with every tool’ to advance Trump plan

President Isaac Herzog (right) meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, July 6, 2025. On the table is a picture of the hostages held in Gaza. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Writing on X, President Isaac Herzog calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to continue acting in every way and with every tool to swiftly advance the plan presented by US President Donald Trump, and first of all—to bring our loved ones home.”

Herzog says Israel is in a “moment of opportunity, and I hope they will also open a window to ‘the day after’: in the return of the hostages, in a complete transformation of the reality in the Gaza Strip and the entire Middle East, in creating new diplomatic channels for Israel’s integration into the Middle East, and in a complete healing and mending within Israeli society in every sense.”

Ben Gvir says his party will bolt government if Hamas ‘continues to exist’ after hostages return

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who leads the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, threatens to leave the government if Hamas “continues to exist” after the release of the hostages under the Trump plan for ending the war in Gaza.

Under the Trump plan, following the release of all remaining hostages, Hamas members who “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty,” while those who wish to leave Gaza will be given safe passage.

It is not immediately clear if Ben Gvir means he would leave the government if Hamas complies with this stipulation of the proposed agreement.

“In light of recent developments, myself and the Otzma Yehudit faction informed the prime minister in a clear manner: if after the release of the hostages the Hamas terror organization remains in existence, Otzma Yehudit will not be part of the government,” states Ben Gvir.

“We will not be part of a national defeat which will be an eternal disgrace, and which will turn into a ticking time bomb of the next massacre,” he adds.

The far-right minister says that his party “would, like everyone, be happy to see the hostages return home,” but says that his party “can in no way agree to a scenario in which the terror group which brought about the greatest ever catastrophe upon the State of Israel will be able to resurrect itself.

Egypt confirms it will host Israeli, Hamas negotiators on Monday for hostage-prisoner release talks

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry announces that on Monday, Egypt will host Hamas and Israeli delegations for talks to discuss the details of releasing all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners under the Trump plan.

The statement says the discussions are expected to hopefully lead to an end to the war in Gaza and to alleviating Palestinian suffering.

IDF confirms Gaza City strike, says it targeted Hamas operative who posed threat to troops

Illustrative: Smoke billows following an Israeli strike in Gaza City, on October 2, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The military confirms carrying out a strike in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood that reportedly killed 18 Palestinians, including children, saying it had targeted a Hamas operative.

The strike earlier today, in an area that has been under evacuation orders for weeks, targeted a Hamas operative who “posed a threat to troops operating in the area,” the IDF says in response to a query.

The military says it took “many steps” to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information.

The IDF says it is aware of the reports of civilian casualties in the area, adding that it is further investigating.

“The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians and acts to minimize such harm as much as possible,” it adds.

The strike came as the IDF paused offensive operations in the Strip amid a push by US President Donald Trump to bring about an end to the war. The IDF is still conducting defensive operations, including airstrikes against threats to forces.

‘It’s Now Or Never’: Tens of thousands rally in Tel Aviv for hostage deal, amid push for Trump’s Gaza plan

'It's now or never,' proclaims a banner held by crowds rallying in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, urging the implementation of US President Donald Trump's deal to free all hostages from Gaza and end the war, October 4, 2025. (Amir Goldstein / Hostages Families Forum)

Tens of thousands gather at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square and hundreds more outside the IDF headquarters, a block away, to rally for a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal as US President Donald Trump’s proposal appears to pick up steam.

A huge placard proclaims: “It’s Now Or Never.”

“There’s a deal on the table, it’s been there the whole time,” chant protesters outside the IDF headquarters’ Begin Road entrance.

A smaller, left-wing protest takes place on the Begin-Shaul HaMelech intersection, between the two other demonstrations, with activists, many of them from binational socialist outfit Standing Together, silently holding signs accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Across the street from them on Begin, where protesters pass through to any of the three demonstrations, a handful of right-wing activists taunt protesters, accusing them of being elitists who have made the hostages’ release less probable while ignoring soldiers who were killed in Gaza.

Crowds rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square urging the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s deal to free all hostages from Gaza and end the war, October 4, 2025. (Tal A.M / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

“Trump and Bibi, the kings, are going to bring back the hostages and then what will you complain about? Cilantro?” asks a megaphone-wielding right-wing activist.

Hamas was surprised by Trump’s embrace of its response, annoyed by his subsequent threat

Hamas is seeking clarity regarding the terms of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in the talks slated to take place in Egypt over the coming days, an Arab diplomat tells The Times of Israel.

While the White House published a map demarcating the three phases of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the Arab mediators understand the image to be illustrative and are looking to get more clarity regarding the redeployment of Israeli troops in order to bring Hamas on board, the diplomat says.

Hamas was surprised by the extent to which US President Donald Trump embraced the group’s response to his proposal for ending the war, the Arab diplomat says.

However, the group’s abroad leadership was also “annoyed” by Trump’s latest threat earlier today to blow up the deal if Hamas didn’t move quickly to release the hostages, with the Arab diplomat maintaining that Hamas has already demonstrated goodwill by expressing willingness to release all remaining hostages without securing a more significant withdrawal of Israeli troops beforehand.

The map released with the Trump plan envisions an initial Israeli withdrawal in parallel to the hostage releases that keep Israel in control of the majority of the Strip.

A map of a proposed withdrawal of IDF troops as part of a deal to end the war in Gaza, published on September 29, 2025. (White House)

The Arab diplomat explained that while Hamas will be able to deliver all living hostages within a short period, releasing the bodies of slain hostages will take more time, as the group doesn’t know where all of them are located. In some cases, those who knew the location of the bodies were killed in Israeli strikes. In some circumstances, the bodies are located in parts of Gaza that are currently under Israel’s control, so Hamas won’t be able to retrieve them, the Arab diplomat says.

Still, the Arab diplomat is optimistic about the chances for a hostage release in the coming days, as Hamas is no longer seeking a full withdrawal of Israeli troops, rather only assurances from the US that the war will permanently end and that there will eventually be a completion of Israel’s pull-out from Gaza.

Hamas is also hoping to secure a timeline for that withdrawal, given that the US plan states that the pull-out will be performance-based.

The Arab diplomat says that Trump’s ability to coax Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into apologizing to Qatar for Israel’s botched strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, and then the White House’s subsequent publication of photographs of that apology call in the Oval Office, were critical in Washington being able to demonstrate that it could deliver the Israeli premier.

Israel’s negotiating team will head to Cairo tomorrow or Monday – report

Israel’s negotiating team will head to Cairo tomorrow or Monday, Channel 12 reports.

It will be led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, government hostage point man Gal Hirsch, IDF hostage point man Nitzan Alon, the Shin Bet’s deputy director, and Mossad and defense officials.

The goal is to finalize a deal this week.

The first stage will be to agree on the mechanism for the hostage releases, according to the report. The 72 hours to release all the living hostages will begin once that is agreed upon.

Israel estimates that returning the bodies of hostages will take more time, Channel 12 reports.

Cabinet minister says Hamas employing ‘deceptive tricks’ as it demands withdrawal for living hostages

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter attends an Israel Hayom security conference in Jerusalem, December 1, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter accuses Hamas of “starting with deceptive tricks” in demanding that the IDF withdraw to enable it to locate living hostages in areas where the IDF is present, in an apparent reference to comments by senior Hamas officials about the terror group’s ability to find and release hostages under current conditions.

Dichter, who serves as a member of the key decision-making Security Cabinet body, asserts that none of the living hostages are located in the areas that the IDF controls.

“The immediate demand dictated also by President Trump’s comments needs to be the return of all 20 living hostages within 72 hours as a first step, which will dictate the continuation of the implementation of the stages of the agreement, Dichter posts on X.

“Without this, the agreement cannot advance and combat needs to continue with full force,” he insists.

Trump on Netanyahu moving ahead with his Gaza deal: ‘I said, Bibi, this is your chance for victory. He was fine with it. He has no choice’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) talks with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington DC, where Trump presents a plan to end the war in Gaza at a joint press conference with Netanyahu, on September 29, 2025. (Avi Ohayon / GPO, via Reuters)

US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, and found the Israeli leader surprisingly willing to move ahead with Trump’s plan to end the war, the president tells Axios.

Trump also tells the outlet that Hamas supports the deal.

Trump’s advisers told him before the call that Netanyahu had reservations about the proposal, according to the news site, but Netanyahu agreed to move ahead when they spoke.

“We had great receptivity for our plan — every country of the world in favor,” he tells Axios. “Bibi is in favor. Hamas went a long way — they want to do it. Now we will need to close it.”

“I said, ‘Bibi, this is your chance for victory.’ He was fine with it,” Trump tells Axios. “He’s got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine.”

“Bibi took it very far and Israel lost a lot of support in the world,” says Trump, apparently relating to the war in Gaza. “Now I am gonna get all that support back,” he continues.

Trump also praises leading Israeli critic Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as “very helpful” in getting Hamas on board. “Erdogan helped a lot. He is a tough guy, but he is a friend of mine and he was great,” Trump says.

A US official tells Axios that Trump told the Turkish leader: “I did a lot for you and now I need you to do this.”

Report: Hamas delegation to arrive in Cairo on Monday for deal negotiations

Al Jazeera reports that a Hamas delegation will arrive in Sharm el-Sheikh in Sinai this coming Monday, as part of the start of negotiations on a ceasefire deal in Gaza. It was also reported that a Qatari delegation will participate in the talks beginning Monday.

The Al Jazeera report contradicts an earlier claim by the Saudi Al-Hadath TV network, citing unnamed sources, which said Hamas negotiators would arrive in Cairo tonight.

Netanyahu: Kushner and Witkoff coming ‘to finish this,’ won’t reopen any clause relating to hostages

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, right, and Jared Kushner wait for the arrival of President Donald Trump at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey on July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells Channel 12 regarding the imminent negotiations in Egypt on the release of all Israeli hostages in the first phase of US President Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza: “Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are arriving soon to finish this. They aren’t coming to play games. They aren’t ready to reopen any clause relating to the release [of the hostages]. First bring the hostages, then the rest will come. I believe there is a good chance we will reach this.”

The two aides to Trump — Kushner, his son-in-law and a close adviser on the Middle East, and Witkoff, his special envoy to the region — are traveling to Egypt this weekend to help finalize details of the US plan for ending the war in Gaza.

Small number of Gazans return to homes in eastern Gaza; rubble cleared in Khan Younis

Gazan media outlets report that a relatively small number of residents returned earlier today to their homes in eastern Gaza City, in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.

According to the reports, between dozens and a few hundred returned, although it’s not clear if all of them returned in order to stay or just visit their houses and assess the damage.

Hundreds of thousands have left the area following the advance of Israeli forces in the takeover of Gaza City. The return comes after US President Donald Trump said Hamas agreed to negotiate a ceasefire, and as the IDF halted its takeover of the city.

The IDF is blocking movement from the south northward; the families attempting to return had been staying in Gaza City but further west.

Meanwhile, the Khan Younis municipality began clearing rubble from airstrikes this morning and reopening streets “to allow easier passage for the displaced,” according to a municipal statement.

At the same time, Israeli strikes have continued over the past 24 hours. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported at noon that 66 people were killed in the past day from strikes or Israeli ground fire.

#شاهد| عدد كبير من العائلات تعود إلى بيوتها بعد إعلان الاحتلال تجميد العملية العسكرية في غزة pic.twitter.com/oE9uxL4gye

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) October 4, 2025

IDF says it found two separate Hamas tunnels underneath two Gaza City hospitals

A weapons workshop is seen in a Hamas tunnel next to the Jordanian Hospital in Gaza City, in a video issued by the IDF on October 4, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it has uncovered a Hamas tunnel running underneath a hospital in Gaza City and an entrance to another adjacent to a separate medical center.

The first tunnel was located next to the Jordanian Hospital, in the south of Gaza City.

According to the IDF, troops of the 36th Division, including forces of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, found an entrance to the tunnel at a Hamas compound which is adjacent to the Jordanian Hospital.

The tunnel spans a kilometer and a half, and includes a weapons manufacturing workshop and other rooms, the military says.

The IDF says that according to its intelligence, Hamas company and platoon commanders had resided in the tunnel.

The military stresses that “Hamas’s activity near the Jordanian hospital was carried out without the involvement or knowledge of the Jordanians.”

This video, published by the IDF on October 4, 2025, shows a Hamas tunnel just outside Gaza City’s Jordanian Hospital. (Israel Defense Forces)

The second tunnel was found at the Hamad Hospital near the sea in northwest Gaza City. The army says that the tunnel runs underneath the medical center.

This video, published by the IDF on October 4, 2025, shows the location of a Hamas tunnel running under Gaza City’s Hamad Hospital. (Israel Defense Forces)

“The Hamas terror organization systematically operates in hospital areas, exploiting humanitarian facilities for military purposes. For years, the organization has built an underground system beneath hospitals throughout the Strip, used for weapon production and managing combat operations,” the IDF says.

The military adds that troops are operating in the area to map out the tunnels ahead of the demolition, and are “expanding their operations to additional sites where there are indications of terror activity.”

Hamas and Israel to hold indirect talks on Trump plan in Cairo starting tomorrow — report

CAIRO, Egypt — Hamas and Israel will engage in indirect talks in Cairo on Sunday and Monday to secure the release of hostages and detainees, Egyptian state-linked media report.

Al-Qahera News, which is closely linked to Egypt’s intelligence service, reports that both delegations “have begun moving to launch talks in Cairo tomorrow and the day after, to discuss arranging the ground conditions for the exchange of all detainees and prisoners, in accordance with Trump’s proposal.”

Gantz vows not to allow ‘petty politics’ to derail Trump’s Gaza plan

Benny Gantz speaks during press conference in Tel Aviv on August 23, 2025. (Tal Gal/Flash90)

National Unity-Blue and White party chair Benny Gantz says he will not allow “petty politics” to torpedo US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.

“Make no mistake — we have a long and complex road ahead of us until all our hostages are returned and the Hamas regime is replaced,” Gantz writes on X.

“We can’t miss another opportunity,” he writes. “We will do everything in our power so that it will happen and ensure that petty politics do not derail President Trump’s framework,” he says.

Hezbollah chief says Trump’s Gaza plan ‘full of dangers,’ claims it is ‘Israel’s project’

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem addresses supporters through a screen in a televised address during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of Israel's assassination of the group's longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in southern Lebanon on September 27, 2025. (Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The head of Lebanon’s Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah says that Washington’s plan for a ceasefire in Gaza was “full of dangers,” accusing Israel of using the proposal to achieve what it “failed” to do during the war.

Naim Qassem, the leader of the terror group, suggested Israel would use the plan as a pretext to take over the land and strip Palestinians of their self-determination, but says the decision of whether to accept it was ultimately Hamas’s.

“In fact, this plan is a plan full of dangers,” Qassem says in a speech commemorating two Hezbollah commanders killed during the terror group’s devastating war with Israel about a year ago, which it sparked by launching attacks on the country a day after the October 7, 2023, massacre.

“It is Israel’s project, which it seeks to achieve through politics after failing to achieve it through military action, aggression, genocide, and famine,” he adds.

Qassem says he would not “interfere in the discussion of the details” of Trump’s plan, as “ultimately, the Palestinian resistance, Hamas, and all the factions are the ones discussing and deciding what they see fit.”

He insists, however, that “we must confront the Greater Israel project” — a reference to a biblical interpretation of Israel’s territory that encompasses not only the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, but also parts of modern Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

Qassem says that it was up to every person in the region to resist this idea, as “the project will reach him sooner or later, according to Israel’s planning.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Netanyahu to issue statement at 8 p.m. on ceasefire-hostage release deal efforts

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will issue a statement this evening at 8 p.m. on progress to a deal to end the war and release hostages held in Gaza, Hebrew media outlets report.

Trump thanks Israel for halt to Gaza strikes, but adds ‘Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off’

Palestinians stand in long queues to obtain drinking water in the northern Gaza Strip. October 4, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

Amid reports that an Israeli airstrike killed 10 people, including children in Gaza City, US President Donald Trump expresses his appreciation that “Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the hostage release and peace deal a chance to be completed.”

“Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off,” Trump writes on Truth Social.

“I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again,” he continues.

“Let’s get this done, FAST. Everyone will be treated fairly!” he adds, repeating an assurance ostensibly met to keep both sides on board with the fragile agreement.

Palestinian media reports 10 killed in Israeli strike in Gaza City

Palestinian media reports 10 dead, including children, in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza City neighborhood of Tuffah.

The IDF has not commented on the reports.

The strike comes as the IDF has paused offensive operations in the Strip amid a push by US President Donald Trump to bring about an end to the war. Military sources say the IDF is still conducting defensive operations, including airstrikes against threats to forces.

Still, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiyah tells the AP that Israeli strikes killed Palestinians across Gaza City, while bombing had “significantly subsided.”

Gaza City has been under evacuation orders for weeks amid an offensive against Hamas in the area.

Greta Thunberg receiving ‘insufficient’ food and water, ‘harsh treatment’ after arrest — report

Greta Thunberg, detained by Israel after trying to breach the blockade on the Gaza Strip, is seen in a photo released October 3, 2025, by the Foreign Ministry. (Foreign Ministry)

Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, imprisoned in Israel after traveling on the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the blockade on Gaza, is being held in harsh conditions in an Israeli prison, according to correspondence between the Swedish foreign ministry and associates of the activist seen by the Guardian.

“The embassy has been able to meet with Greta,” an email sent by the ministry to those close to Thunberg reads. “She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed rashes, which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”

“Another detainee reportedly told another embassy that they had seen her [Thunberg] being forced to hold flags while pictures were taken. She wondered whether images of her had been distributed,” the ministry says, according to the report.

Activists detained this week from the flotilla are being held at the Ketziot prison in the Negev.

In response to a query on the matter of forcing Thunberg to hold flags, an Israel Prison Service spokesman tells The Times of Israel the agency is “unaware of such an incident.”

Israel Defense Forces and Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.

Einav Zangauker: Ben Gvir, Smotrich and Netanyahu will do everything to sabotage hostage deal

Einav Zangauker (right), mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, and released hostage Ilana Gritzewsky, Matan's partner, address protesters at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, October 4, 2025. (Paulina Patimer / Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Families of hostages held in Gaza urge supporters of a ceasefire-hostage release deal to join protests tonight, to prevent the sabotage of an emerging agreement to free the captives.

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held in Gaza, says that “we have never been so close” to getting the hostages back.

“And I know that as long as we get closer, [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir, [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich, and Netanyahu will do everything to sabotage my chances to hug Matan,” she says.

“These are critical days. The saboteurs of the negotiations are getting ready to pressure Netanyahu. We have to stand against them like a wall,” she says, insisting that the current opportunity cannot be wasted.

“We can’t just rely on Trump. I call on the country’s citizens — everyone who supports the return of hostages, everyone who supports an end to the war and the return of the soldiers, take to the streets with us,” she says.

Police arrest six suspects over possible links to Manchester synagogue terror attack

A woman wears an Israeli flag wrapped over her back as she attends a vigil for the victims of the Yom Kippur terrorist attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, England, October 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

LONDON — Police are questioning six people arrested on suspicion of terror offenses after two men were killed in a terror attack on a synagogue in northwest England that left Britain’s Jewish community shocked and grieving.

Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by police on Thursday outside the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue in Manchester after he rammed a car into pedestrians, attacked them with a knife, and tried to force his way into the building.

Three men and three women are arrested in the Greater Manchester area on suspicion of the “commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism,” as police work to determine whether the attacker acted alone. A court grants police five more days to hold four of the suspects: men aged 30 and 32, and women aged 46 and 61. An 18-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man are also being questioned.

Police have not identified those arrested or disclosed their links to Shamie.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Woman lightly hurt in suspected ramming attack at West Bank checkpoint

A woman was lightly injured in a suspected car-ramming attack at a West Bank checkpoint near Jerusalem a short while ago, police and medics say.

The suspected assailant accelerated his vehicle into the Bidu Checkpoint, near the Palestinian town of the same name, and hit another vehicle, according to police.

In the vehicle that was hit, a 49-year-old woman was lightly injured, Magen David Adom says.

The suspect then got out of his vehicle and attempted to flee toward Bidu. Border Police officers stationed at the checkpoint chased after him and fired shots in the air, before detaining him, police say.

Hamas’s political, military wings at odds over disarmament under Trump plan — report

Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya, left, seen in Tehran on February 8, 2025. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Hamas’s political wing and military wing have not reached a consensus over matter of disarmament as part of US President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the war in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing Arab mediators.

According to the report, Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s lead negotiator, and other political officials living outside Gaza are ready to accept the proposal “despite significant reservations.”

While Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Izz al-Din Haddad, is open to surrendering Hamas’s offensive weapons, such as rockets, he wants to retain the terror group’s “defensive” weapons, such as assault rifles, the report says.

Other military commanders are less open to compromise, according to the report. They reportedly feel they won’t be able to enforce disarmament among the young men they have recruited throughout the war, who they believe may not be willing to surrender their weapons after losing family and property during the war.

Witkoff, Kushner, heading to Egypt to help reach deal to end Gaza war, US official confirms to ToI

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are traveling to Egypt this weekend to help finalize details of the US plan for ending the war in Gaza, a US official confirms to The Times of Israel.

South Africa welcomes Hamas response to Gaza proposal, urges Israel to reciprocate

The South African government welcomes Hamas’s decision to release all Israeli hostages under the terms of a US plan for Gaza, urging Israel to reciprocate by releasing Palestinian political prisoners and children.

“We welcome the decision by Hamas to release all Israeli hostages and its stated readiness for further engagement. This decision must be met with reciprocal action by the State of Israel,” South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) says in a statement.

In 2023, South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide over its devastating war in Gaza, an allegation Israel vehemently denies.

London police arrest six anti-Israel protesters who gather for rally days after Manchester terror attack

A protester is taken away by police officers at a "Lift The Ban" demonstration in support of the proscribed anti-Israel group Palestine Action, calling for the recently imposed ban to be lifted, in Trafalgar Square, central London, on October 4, 2025. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

LONDON — London police arrest six people who display support for a banned pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel group and carry away protesters who gathered for a demonstration, despite requests to call it off after a deadly terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester.

Two people were killed in the terror attack in the northwestern city on Thursday, and police shot dead the assailant, a British man of Syrian descent who counter-terrorism police said may have been inspired by extremist Islamist ideology.

Organizers refused requests by the police and government to call off the demonstration, which had been announced before the terror attack, to protest against the banning of the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws.

Hundreds gather for the main protest event in Trafalgar Square in central London, where police began carrying away protesters as seated activists wrote out slogans on placards declaring their support for Palestine Action. Onlookers chant “shame on you” at officers.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

137 Gaza flotilla activists deported to Turkey; Israel says several countries showing ‘reluctance to accept flights’

Another 137 activists from the flotilla that attempted to break the Israeli maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip have been deported to Turkey, Israel’s Foreign Ministry says.

They include citizens from the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, Malaysia, Bahrain, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Turkey. Sources in Turkey’s Foreign Ministry tell Reuters that 36 are Turkish nationals.

The activists were sent to Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight this afternoon from Ramon Airport in southern Israel.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry says “these individuals, who arrived under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid,’ made it clear — through their actions, their rejection of all proposals by Israel, Italy, and Greece to peacefully transfer the aid, and the small quantity of aid they actually carried on their boats — that their true goal was provocation in the service of Hamas, not humanitarian assistance.”

The ministry says, “Israel seeks to expedite the deportation of all provocateurs. However, some of them are deliberately obstructing the legal deportation process, preferring instead to linger in Israel.”

“At the same time, several foreign governments have shown reluctance to accept flights that would return these provocateurs,” the ministry says, adding that “nevertheless, all participants in this publicity stunt will be deported as swiftly as possible.”

On Friday, four Italian nationals detained while trying to reach Gaza were deported.

In all, more than 470 activists were detained on the Global Sumud Flotilla’s 42 ships that were intercepted by the Israeli Navy.

Hamas ‘ready for peace’ after positive response to Trump deal, Erdogan says

Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Hamas’s positive reaction to a peace deal proposed by US President Donald Trump, and says the group was “ready for peace.”

“Hamas has shown, as it has done many times before, that it is ready for peace. Thus, a window of opportunity has opened for lasting peace in our region,” Erdogan tells a ceremony in Istanbul.

Tens of thousands of anti-Israel protesters march against Gaza war in Barcelona

Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators rally during a protest in Barcelona, Spain, October 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

BARCELONA, Spain — Tens of thousands of people are marching in Barcelona as Spain, Italy, and Portugal gear up for mass, anti-Israel demonstrations to protest the war in Gaza.

People pack Barcelona’s wide Passeig de Gracia, the city’s main central boulevard. Many families turn out, along with people of all ages. Protesters carried Palestinian flags or wore t-shirts supporting Palestine. Hand-held signs bear messages like “Gaza hurts me,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Hands off the flotilla.”

While the protests will likely not sway Israel’s government, protesters hope they could inspire other demonstrations and encourage European leaders to take a harder line against Israel.

María Jesús Parra, 63, carries a Palestinian flag high after making an hour-long trip from her home in another town to Barcelona. She wants the European Union to act against what she described as the horrors she watches on televised news on a daily basis.

“How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live after what we [as Europe] experienced in the 1940s?” Parra says. “Now nobody can say they didn’t know what was happening.”

Israeli official: Hostages could be free ‘within a few days’; no such deal for all hostages without full IDF pullout was on table before

The 48 hostages held in Gaza: First row, from left: Rom Braslavski, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Matan Angrest, Avinatan Or, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel. Second row, from left: Eitan Mor, Segev Kalfon, Nimrod Cohen, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Bipin Joshi. Third row, from left: Dror Or, Tamir Adar, Matan Zangauker, Bar Kupershtein, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Tamir Nimrodi, Omri Miran. Fourth row, from left: Manny Godard, Sgt. First Class Ran Gvili, Sahar Baruch, Uriel Baruch, Sonthaya Oakkharasri, Ronen Engel, Muhammad Alatrash, Guy Illouz. Fifth row, from left: Joshua Mollel, Sgt. Itay Chen, Col. Asaf Hamami, Tal Chaimi, Aryeh Zalmanovich, Inbar Heiman, Sgt. Oz Daniel, Lt. Hadar Goldin. Bottom row, from left: Yossi Sharabi, Sudthisak Rinthalak, Maj. Lior Rudaeff, Amiram Cooper, Cpt. Daniel Perez, Cpt. Omer Neutra, Eliyahu Margalit, Eitan Levy. (Combo photo by Times of Israel; pictures: Courtesy)

If talks set to be held in Egypt on finalizing the technicalities of Hamas’s release of hostages proceed smoothly, the hostages could be released “within a few days,” a senior Israeli official tells Channel 12 news.

The talks are to be held from tomorrow or Monday, with the presence of Hamas and Israeli delegations, US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and possibly President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the report says. The presence of the Americans underlines the US determination to ensure the deal proceeds as planned, the source says.

The unnamed senior Israeli official says that the current fast-moving developments have been “fully coordinated” between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that the two leaders spoke by telephone yesterday before Trump declared that he believes Hamas is “ready for peace” and told Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly.” The IDF, indeed, shifted overnight to defensive operations in the strip.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) leave the State Dining Room of the White House after a press conference in Washington, DC on September 29, 2025 at which Trump set out a plan to end the war in Gaza. (Jim WATSON / AFP)

The source, evidently close to the prime minister, hailed the progress toward the potential imminent release of all the hostages as a “great achievement” for Netanyahu and Israel, since it represents “the possibility of getting all the hostages back home without Israel having capitulated to the Hamas demand for a full withdrawal from the Strip, as Hamas had demanded” for the past two years.

“No such deal was on the table until now,” the senior source tells Channel 12. “Until now, Hamas demanded that Israel fully withdraw [from Gaza] and only then would the final hostages be freed.”

Under the terms of the Trump proposal now to be finalized in Egypt, the source says, Israel will carry out “a tactical withdrawal,” but the IDF will remain deployed in most of Gaza even as all the hostages go free.

The source claims Hamas has agreed to this arrangement, including the near-immediate release of all hostages, in part because of Trump’s relentless pressure, and thanks to pressure “from the Arab world,” which feared that Israel would indeed move to complete the takeover of all of Gaza, and was “catalyzed” by Israel’s controversial and unsuccessful attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar last month.

The Americans decided to “put their foot down,” Channel 12 says, with Trump determining that “we’re ending this now.”

Recognizing that Hamas was more susceptible to pressure than in the past, and with Turkey playing an important role, the source says, “a new proposal was put together to secure the release of all the hostages before anything else.”

If and when the hostages are freed, in exchange for large-scale releases of Palestinian terrorists and other prisoners, “there will then be discussions on Hamas laying down its arms, the demilitarization of the strip, and the ‘day after'” in Gaza.”

The sequencing of the Trump proposal gives Israel a “huge advantage,” the source says, since Israel will get back the hostages on the one hand, while, on the other, the IDF will remain in most of Gaza as the negotiations on future steps are held.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, right, and Jared Kushner arrive before President Donald Trump holds a news conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at which Trump unveiled a plan to end the war in Gaza, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

In terms of the Israel-US coordination, the source says the possibility that Hamas would respond to Trump’s proposal with a “yes, but,” as it did, was discussed between Netanyahu, Witkoff and Kushner in Washington, DC. When Trump and Netanyahu spoke yesterday, says the source, the president made plain that if Hamas does not release all of the hostages, Israel can resume fighting — as Trump said publicly when unveiling his proposal at the White House on September 29.

The source says the 72-hour deadline for Hamas to release all the hostages will begin as soon as the “technical talks” in Egypt are completed, although the 72-hours “might be extended a little in order for Hamas to locate all the slain hostages. Hamas officials have said the 72-hour window is “unrealistic” bercause it will take longer to locate all the slain hostages.

If the talks in Egypt play out as hoped, the bottom line is that “It will be possible to return the hostages within a few days,” Channel 12 quotes the source as saying.

A map of a proposed withdrawal of IDF troops as part of a deal to end the war in Gaza, published on September 29, 2025. (White House)

Channel 12 also reports that Witkoff is heading to the region with detailed maps of the phased IDF withdrawal; on September 29, the White House issued a more illustrative map.

The US knows that far-right coalition party leader Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir are likely to oppose the deal and potentially seek to bring down Netanyahu’s government, Channel 12 says. It says opposition leader Yair Lapid reconfirmed to the US overnight that he will ensure the government does not fall.

Hamas delegation reportedly to arrive in Cairo tonight for ceasefire-hostage release talks

A Hamas delegation will arrive in Cairo tonight for negotiations on a ceasefire-hostage release deal along the lines of US President Donald Trump’s proposal, unnamed sources tell the Saudi Al-Hadath TV network.

UN rights chief says Trump’s Gaza plan can stop war ‘once and for all’

GENEVA, Switzerland — UN rights chief Volker Turk says US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan was a “vital opportunity” to stop bloodshed and misery in the Palestinian territory “once and for all.”

“This is a vital opportunity for all parties and influential states to pursue in good faith and stop — once and for all — the carnage and the suffering in Gaza, to flood the strip with humanitarian aid, and to ensure the release of the hostages and numerous detained Palestinians,” his office says on X.

.@volker_turk hopes the momentum towards an end to the war in Gaza will pave the way for a permanent cessation of hostilities, followed by recovery and reconstruction, in line with international human rights and humanitarian laws, and the much needed two-state solution.

This is…

— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) October 4, 2025

Abbas welcomes Gaza deal progress, affirms PA’s commitment to ‘lasting peace’

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the Palestinian National Council 23rd opening session in the West Bank city of Ramallah, at his presidential compound, April 30, 2018. (Flash90)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says he welcomes US President Donald Trump’s announcement that Hamas had responded positively to his Gaza peace plan, and that talks would begin on advancing the proposal.

“We welcome these statements as they signal a willingness to release all hostages and adopt a constructive approach during this critical stage, which requires everyone to exercise the highest level of national responsibility,” a statement by the PA’s Presidency says, thanking efforts made by Trump and Arab and Muslim countries toward a deal to end the war.

“What matters to us now is an immediate commitment to a complete ceasefire, the release of all hostages and prisoners, the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid through UN organizations, ensuring the prevention of displacement or annexation, and the commencement of the reconstruction process,” the statement reads.

“Sovereignty over the Gaza Strip belongs to the State of Palestine, and the connection between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must be achieved through Palestinian laws and governmental institutions, through a Palestinian administrative committee and unified Palestinian security forces, within the framework of a single system and law, and with Arab and international support,” the statement reads.

“The Presidency will continue to work with relevant mediators and partners to ensure the success of these efforts, leading to the achievement of a lasting peace that ends the Israeli occupation of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” it says.

Hamas-run ministry says death toll in Gaza war surpasses 67,000

A Palestinian man transports buckets of water next to a coastal path northwest of Nuseirat refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip, October 4, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)

The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry says the death toll from the war in the Strip has surpassed 67,000, after 66 people were killed in the past 24 hours.

The ministry’s tally of 67,074 since October 7, 2023, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

The IDF has not yet commented on its strikes in Gaza in the past day.

The Hamas health ministry also says that two more people died of malnutrition and starvation in the enclave, raising deaths from such causes to 459 people, including 154 children, since the war started.

Israel has disputed claims of widespread famine in Gaza, but has previously admitted “there are issues of access to food” in some areas.

Turkey says 36 of its nationals from Gaza flotilla to return home this afternoon

Members of the group of ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza are seen moored at the small island of Koufonisi, south of the island of Crete, on September 26, 2025. (Photo by Eleftherios ELIS / AFP)

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkey says 36 of its citizens were expected to return home via a special flight this afternoon, after Israel intercepted a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

“We expected 36 of our nationals on the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels seized by Israeli forces in international waters will return to our country this afternoon via a special flight,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli says on X, adding that the final number has not been finalized.

IDF troops reportedly nab four suspects during raid on southern Syrian village

Soldiers from the 810th Mountain Regional Brigade operate in southern Syria, in an IDF handout photo released on July 13, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Four Syrians were reportedly detained by Israeli troops during a raid in a village in southern Syria, close to the Israeli border, last night.

The local Sham TV outlet reports that an IDF patrol entered the village of Jamlah, located just outside the Israeli-held buffer zone in southern Syria, and set up a checkpoint in the area.

Four suspects were then detained and taken by the forces, Sham TV says.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, mostly within the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.

Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”

Ichilov hospital says it’s briefing teams, ready to treat returning hostages

Yael Alexander gives a statement a day after her son Edan was released from 584 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, as other members of the family listen, at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025 (Alon Gilboa/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital says that it is ready to accept and treat any hostages should the be released.

“Ichilov is ready at any given moment to accept the returning [hostages] and provide them with medical treatment and the highest level humane environment as was done throughout the war,” the medical center says in a statement.

“At the moment, the teams that are responsible for treating the returned are being briefed,” the hospital says. “Ichilov stands with the families of the hostages and hopes for their immediate return.

Overnight Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declared that Israel was ready for the “immediate implementation of the first stage of Trump’s plan for the immediate release of all the hostages.”

After Hamas response, Netanyahu said to have held emergency consultation without Ben Gvir, Smotrich

Left: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, January 16, 2025; Right: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, January 13, 2025. (Both photos by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency consultation meeting overnight after Hamas submitted its response to US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, but did not include far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, Hebrew media reports.

The unsourced reports published by multiple outlets say that the meeting was attended by security chiefs, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

The reports say Smotrich and Ben Gvir, who oppose ending the war, were not invited.

Talks on implementing Trump’s Gaza deal said likely to start Sunday in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh; Witkoff said en route; Dermer set to head Israeli team

This picture taken on November 19, 2022 shows a view of the old market area of Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh and the Grand Mosque of al-Sahaba at sunset during the COP27 climate conference. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on implementing US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and free all the hostages are set to start tomorrow in Egypt, Channel 12 reports, saying that they are likely to be held in the Red Sea resort city of  Sharm el-Sheikh.

It says US envoy Steve Witkoff is on his way to Egypt, and that Israel’s negotiating team, which has been told to make preparations to depart, is to be headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

Hamas official says Egypt to host Palestinian factions for conference on Gaza future

A senior Hamas official says that Egypt will organize a conference for Palestinian factions to decide on the post-war future of the Gaza Strip, after the group agreed to release hostages under a US ceasefire plan.

Egypt will host an “intra-Palestinian dialogue on Palestinian unity and the future of Gaza, including the administration of the Gaza Strip”, the official tells AFP.

Hamas on Friday said it would release hostages held in Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan, but did not address the issue of its disarmament and its exile from the Palestinian territory after the war’s end.

Netanyahu said to regard Hamas’s response as ‘mainly negative,’ but sees no option other than to go along with Trump’s efforts

US President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the West Wing of the White House, September 29, 2025, in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not regard Hamas’s response to the Trump proposal as positive, Channel 12 reports, citing people in Netanyahu’s circle.

“They see it mainly as a negative response,” the report says. “But they are going along with Trump’s efforts because they see no other option.”

Channel 12 reports that people close to Netanyahu are briefing that the prime minister was surprised by Trump’s immensely positive response to what was a conditional and ambiguous Hamas acceptance of his September 29 proposal.

But the report also notes that Netanyahu has a political interest in being seen to be consenting to move ahead reluctantly, rather than enthusiastically, given his coalition’s two far-right parties’ firm opposition to ending the war.

The report notes that the fact that Trump has already pressed Israel into halting its offensive operations in Gaza means that Israel has an interest in quickly finalizing the vital first stage of the deal, which provides for the release of all hostages in the first 72 hours of the agreement — both because Israel wants those hostages freed and because it would want to resume offensive operations right away if Hamas reneges or plays for time.

Channel 12 says the assessment in Israel is that Hamas is likely to raise objections and seek assurances regarding further elements of the agreement, notably regarding post-war Gaza, during the soon-to-be-convened talks on the initial phase of hostage releases and IDF withdrawals, and that this is likely to “further complicate the process.”

‘A dangerous combat zone’: IDF warns Palestinians against trying to return to Gaza City after military halts offensive operations

Palestinians carrying belongings arrive on a coastal path northwest of Nuseirat refugee camp as they are displaced southward from the Wadi Gaza area on October 1, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

The IDF warns Palestinians against returning to Gaza City or approaching troops in all parts of Gaza, as the military has paused offensive operations in the Strip.

“IDF troops are still encircling Gaza City, and returning there is very dangerous,” says the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee, adding that the area north of the Wadi Gaza stream is a “dangerous combat zone.”

“For your safety, avoid returning north or approaching areas where IDF troops are operating anywhere in the Strip — even in its south,” he adds.

The IDF paused offensive maneuvers in Gaza City amid a push by US President Donald Trump to bring about an end to the war, but it is still conducting defensive operations in the Strip, including airstrikes against threats to forces.

Hamas says ready to begin talks to finalize all issues in Gaza ceasefire deal

Hamas says that the group is ready to start talks to resolve all outstanding issues under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal.

“We are ready to begin negotiations immediately to finalize all issues,” a senior Hamas official tells AFP on condition of anonymity.

The group said yesterday that it was ready to release all hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but did not address calls for its disarmament and its exile from the territory after the war’s end.

EU chief says Hamas response to Trump plan ‘encouraging,’ end of Gaza war ‘within reach’

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives her annual State of the Union address during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on September 10, 2025. (SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomes Hamas’s reaction to a peace deal proposed by US President Donald Trump and says halting the war in Gaza is “within reach.”

“Hamas’ stated readiness to release hostages and engage on the basis of the recent proposal is encouraging,” von der Leyen writes on X. “This moment must be seized. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages are within reach.”

Palestinian Islamic Jihad endorses Hamas’s response to Trump Gaza plan

An Islamic Jihad gunman leads hostage Sasha Trupanov before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on February 15, 2025 (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, endorses the group’s response to US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, saying it represents the stance of the Palestinian resistance.

Islamic Jihad’s approval of the plan would facilitate Hamas’s release of hostages both groups hold in Gaza.

Report: US envoy Witkoff headed to region, peace talks to be held in Egypt

US President Donald Trump (R) speaks with special envoy Steve Witkoff on the last day of the US Open tennis tournament, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in New York City, on September 7, 2025. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to the region in the coming days as Israel and Hamas prepare to hold brokered talks on the details of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The report says the first round of negotiations will be held in Egypt.

‘Decisive days for a deal’: Hostage families urge public to rally for captives

Protesters carry signs during a rally for the release of hostages from Gaza, at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on September 13, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Families of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip urge the public to attend rallies for the captives tonight as US President Donald Trump’s peace plan appears to gather momentum, saying that these are “decisive days.”

“The hostages’ families call on the people of Israel to stand with us this evening at Hostages Square to mark two years since October 7,” says a statement from the Hostage Families Forum.

“We are in decisive days for a deal—days that will determine when the living hostages return for rehabilitation and the deceased return for proper burial,” the Forum says in a statement.

“This is the hour when all of Israel must stand together and demand loudly: do everything possible to bring our brothers and sisters home,” the statement says. “The square is where we can all send a clear message together: Bring them all home and end the war! We will not stop until the last hostage returns.”

“This is the time, the place, and the moment to prove that nothing is stronger than Israeli solidarity,” they say.

IDF ordered to halt offensive maneuvers in Gaza City; Palestinians report some continued strikes

IDF troops seen operating in the Gaza Strip in an image published October 3, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF has been ordered to halt offensive operations in Gaza City amid a push by US President Donald Trump to bring about an end to the war, The Times of Israel has confirmed.

However, the military is still carrying out defensive operations, and the IDF said earlier that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir instructed troops to “remove any threat.”

Palestinian media reports that some strikes are ongoing

Four Palestinians are killed in a strike in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, and artillery shelling was carried out in an area north of Bureij in central Gaza and in the Khan Younis area in the Strip’s south, according to Palestinian media.

The IDF overnight put out a statement saying “per the order of the political echelon,” Zamir instructed troops to gear up “for the implementation of the first stage of Trump’s plans to free the hostages,” without detailing what the order entailed, after meeting with top generals for “a special situational assessment in light of the developments.”

Israeli team said ordered to prepare to depart for hostage-truce talks; security officials said preparing list of Palestinians security prisoners to be freed

Demonstrators lift placards during a protest calling for a ceasefire and the return of hostages from Gaza, in front of the Likud party building in Tel Aviv on September 30, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Israel’s negotiating team is ordered to prepare to dispatch a delegation to hold talks for implementing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The move comes after Israeli forces reportedly halted offensive operations in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel is prepared for the “immediate implementation of the first stage of Trump’s plan for the immediate release of all the hostages.”

The Kan report says Israeli security officials are drafting a list of Palestinian terrorists and prisoners who could be freed in exchange for the hostages as part of the deal.

The report does not say where the negotiations are set to be held.

Trump last night declared that Hamas is “ready for a lasting PEACE,” calling on Israel for the first time to immediately stop striking in Gaza, as he appeared to wholeheartedly welcome the terror group’s response to his proposal for ending the war in Gaza.

The message from Trump came shortly after Hamas announced that it had submitted its response, in which it welcomed parts of the US proposal, while hinting at resistance regarding other sections and insisting that additional negotiations were needed to finalize the terms.

Sanae Takaichi elected to lead Japan’s ruling party, likely to be country’s first woman prime minister

Sanae Takaichi, Japan's Prime Minister contender and former economic security minister, speaks at the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) leadership election in Tokyo on October 4, 2025. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon / POOL / AFP)

China hawk Sanae Takaichi wins the leadership of Japan’s ruling party, putting her on course to become the country’s first woman prime minister.

She was elected president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after winning a runoff vote against the telegenic but inexperienced Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of a former prime minister.

The 64-year-old, whose hero is Margaret Thatcher, is charged with reviving the ailing LDP as a new anti-immigration grouping snaps at its heels.

The arch-conservative will almost certainly be approved by parliament as Japan’s fifth prime minister in as many years, a step that local media say could come the week of October 13.

Iran executes 6 separatists accused of ties to Israel

Portraits of slain Iranians are displayed in Paris on July 8, 2025, as part of a campaign led by Comité Iran Liberte and Comité de Soutien aux droits de l'homme en Iran (CSDHI) to stop executions in the Islamic Republic. (Delphine Touitou / AFP)

Iran’s judiciary says it had executed six members of a “terrorist” group convicted of waging armed attacks in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

“The death sentence for six separatist terrorist elements, who in recent years had carried out a series of armed operations and bombings targeting security in Khuzestan province, was carried out at dawn today,” the judiciary says on its Mizan website.

The identities of those executed and details of their arrests and sentencing were not immediately clear.

But Mizan reported that they were involved in the killings of four security personnel, including two police officers and two members of the Basij paramilitary force, in 2018 and 2019.

The report also says they had “confessed to planning and executing acts of sabotage such as making and planting bombs, blowing up the Khorramshahr gas station.”

Iran usually links what it calls separatist and terrorist groups to, Israel, which it calls the “Zionist regime”.

In a separate execution on Saturday, authorities hanged Saman Mohammadi after convicting him for “Moharebeh” — waging war against God — for his alleged membership in terrorist and Takfiri groups, Tehran’s term for Islamists.

Mohammadi, arrested in 2013, was reportedly involved in the 2009 killing of the Friday prayers imam in the western city of Sanandaj, as well as in armed robberies and kidnappings, including the killing of a conscript.

The executions came less than a week after Iran said it hanged a man it described as one of Israel’s top spies.

The Islamic republic, which carries out executions by hanging, is the world’s second most prolific executioner after China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International. It has carried out a wave of executions since the 12 day war with Israel in June.

Munich airport to gradually resume flights as drones shut runways

Night view shows an Air Lingus plane grounded at Munich International Airport in Munich, southern Germany, on early October 4, 2025, after reports of drone sightings again forced Munich airport to close (Photo by Michaela STACHE / AFP)

Munich airport says it will gradually start resuming flights from this morning after both runways were closed last night, authorities say

The airport shut down for the second time in less than 24 hours after drones were again sighted, leading to dozens of flights being diverted or cancelled and stranding some 6,500 passengers.

“German air traffic control restricted flight operations at Munich Airport as a precautionary measure due to unconfirmed drone sightings and suspended them until further notice,” a statement on the airport website read.

Zamir orders IDF to ready ‘for implementation of first stage of Trump’s plan to free the hostages’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (center) is seen in Gaza City on September 30, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Following the statements from Hamas and US President Donald Trump on the American proposal to end the war in Gaza and free the hostages, the IDF announces that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met with top generals for “a special situational assessment in light of the developments.”

A statement from the military says that “per the order of the political echelon,” Zamir instructs the Israel Defense Forces to gear up “for the implementation of the first stage of Trump’s plans to free the hostages,” without detailing what the order entails.

The statement also seems to confirm reports that political leaders ordered the IDF to halt its offensive to take over Gaza City and instead focus on defensive operations, stressing that “the security of our forces is of supreme importance and all the IDF’s capabilities will be allocated to Southern Command to defend our forces.”

“The chief of staff emphasized that in light of the operational sensitivity, forces must demonstrate increased readiness and awareness. Likewise, the need for a quick response to remove any threat was clarified,” the statement adds.

IDF reportedly ordered to halt Gaza City offensive, switch to solely defensive meneuvers, after Trump demands Israeli strikes stop

Troops operate in Gaza City in this photo released on September 29, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)

Israeli political leaders have ordered the military to halt the campaign to conquer Gaza City, Army Radio and the Kan public broadcaster report after US President Donald Trump called on Israel to stop striking in Gaza as he pushes to end the war and free the hostages held by Hamas.

Army Radio says the order calls for operations to be reduced to “the minimum,” with troops on the ground strictly carrying out defensive maneuvers, and was issued after overnight talks between Israeli and US officials.

Kan meanwhile says negotiations on Trump’s plan are expected to be held soon.

PM’s office says Israel ‘prepared for immediate release of all hostages’ after Hamas responds to Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issues a rare overnight statement during Shabbat following Hamas’s response to US President Donald Trump’s proposal to free the hostages and end the war in Gaza.

“Israel is prepared for the immediate implementation of the first stage of Trump’s plan for the immediate release of all the hostages,” says the statement from Netanyahu’s office.

“We will continue to work in full cooperation with the president and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles laid out by Israel, which correspond with Trump’s vision for ending the war.”

The statement doesn’t make any reference to Trump’s call for Israel to immediately stop strikes in Gaza, which the US president stated was necessary to ensure the hostages can be safely and swiftly freed.

PM approved drone attacks last month on Gaza flotilla ships off Tunisian coast — report

Tunisian protesters shout anti-Israeli slogans and wave Palestinian flags at the Port of Sidi Bou Said near Tunis on September 9, 2025, after the organizers of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and pro-Palestinian activists said late on September 8 that one of their boats was hit by a suspected drone. (YASSINE MAHJOUB / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly approved military operations on two vessels last month that were part of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, CBS News reports, citing two US intelligence officials.

Israeli forces on September 8 and 9 launched drones from a submarine and dropped incendiary devices onto the boats that were moored outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said, causing a fire, according to the report.

France’s Macron and Germany’s Merz: Release of hostages, end of Gaza war ‘within reach’

French President Emmanuel Macron says a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held in the coastal territory are “within reach,” after Hamas said it was ready for peace talks.

“The release of all hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza are within reach!” Macron writes on X, joining a chorus of hopeful reactions to the Palestinian Islamist terror group’s response to US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meanwhile says that “peace in Gaza and the release of the hostages are within reach.”

Merz adds in posts on the X platform that Trump’s plan represents “the best chance for peace” in the conflict and that Germany “fully supports” Trump’s “call upon both sides.”

Trump: ‘We’re very close’ to ending war; ‘everybody will be treated fairly’ under deal, ‘we have to get the final word down in concrete’

US President Donald Trump gives a video statement from the Oval Office on October 3, 2025. (Screen capture/Truth Social)

US President Donald Trump says “we’re very close” to ending the fighting in Gaza and achieving peace in the Middle East after Hamas submitted its response to his proposal to end the war and free the hostages it holds.

Hamas welcomed parts of Trump’s proposal, while hinting at resistance regarding other sections and insisting that additional negotiations were needed to finalize the terms.

But Trump appears to be wholeheartedly embracing the apparent “Yes, but” response as a win, issuing a video statement from the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk in which he thanks all of the countries that “helped me put this together — Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and so many others.”

“This is a big day. We’ll see how it all turns out,” Trump says.

“We have to get the final word down in concrete,” he adds, acknowledging that subsequent negotiations still need to be held, despite Washington’s seemingly premature celebrations.

“I look forward to having the hostages come home to their parents,” he says, clarifying that some of the 48 hostages will be coming home in caskets, as only 20 are believed to be alive.

“This is a very special day, maybe unprecedented.”

“We were given a tremendous amount of help. Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East, and we’re very close to achieving that.” Trump continues.

“Thank you all, and everybody will be treated fairly,” he stresses in an apparent message to the sides, neither of which may be completely satisfied with all parts of his plan for ending the war.

pic.twitter.com/JzeyA0pH3e

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 3, 2025

Hamas spokesperson says terror group ‘encouraged’ by Trump’s statement, is ready to negotiate ceasefire-hostage deal

Hamas says statements by US President Donald Trump calling on Israel to stop bombing Gaza are “encouraging,” expressing readiness to immediately negotiate for the release of hostages and an end to the war.

“President Trump’s statements on the immediate cessation of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip are encouraging, and Hamas is ready to immediately begin negotiations to achieve a prisoner exchange, end the war and ensure the withdrawal of the (Israeli) army from the Gaza Strip,” Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nounou tells AFP.

Expressing support for Trump, Hostages Forum says halt to Israeli strikes will prevent harm to captives

The relatives of hostages express support for US President Donald Trump after he called for Israel to halt its strikes in Gaza “so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly.”

Ronen Neutra, the father of slain American-Israeli hostage soldier Cpt. Omer Maxim Neutra, hails Trump’s statement as “a brave move of leadership,” saying he hopes it “will lead to swift release of our son and the other 47 hostages and that the government of Israel and Hamas leadership won’t find a way to thwart it.”

The father of slain captive Sgt. Itay Chen, like Neutra a dual US-Israeli citizen who was killed during the Hamas onslaught nearly two years, says he is cautiously optimistic.

“I support President Trump’s statement on stopping the Israeli strikes to exhaust the opportunity to release all the hostages,” says Ruby Chen. “My family has been waiting two years for the return of my son, an Israeli hero. President Trump gives me hope that the day we unite with Itay is close.”

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, shares Trump’s statement in a post on X, writing, “did you read it Netanyahu?”

The Hostages Families Forum also releases a statement declaring it “stands firmly with President Trump in his commitment to bring home all the hostages and end the war.”

“President Trump’s demand to stop the war immediately is essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages,” it says. “We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home.”

UN chief ‘encouraged’ by Hamas response to Trump’s Gaza proposal

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes Hamas’s declared readiness to release hostages under a Gaza peace deal announced by US President Donald Trump.

“The Secretary-General welcomes and is encouraged by the statement issued by Hamas announcing its readiness to release hostages and to engage,” Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric says in a statement.

“He urges all parties to seize the opportunity to bring the tragic conflict in Gaza to an end.”

Netanyahu reportedly surprised by Trump’s statement, considers Hamas response to US plan a refusal

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu(L) participate in a press conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 29, 2025. (Jim WATSON / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was surprised by US President Donald Trump’s statement saying he believes Hamas is “ready for a lasting peace” and calling on Israel to immediately halt strikes in Gaza, an Israeli official tells Channel 12 news.

The report says Netanyahu held a deliberation on the Hamas response to Trump’s plan for ending the war and freeing the hostages before the US president issued his statement on Truth Social, with the premier saying he viewed the terror group’s reply as a rejection of the American proposal.

Netanyahu also stressed the need to coordinate with the US on a response so it would not seem Hamas responded affirmatively, according to the network, which adds that non-elected officials believe the statement from the terrorist organization could help pave the way to a deal.

Lapid says Trump ‘is right that there is an opportunity like never before to free the hostages, end the war’

Opposition Leader and Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid attends a Yesh Atid party conference in Tel Aviv, September 1, 2025.(Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

In the first comments by an Israeli official following US President Donald Trump’s statement on the Hamas response to his Gaza peace plan, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the American leader “is right that there is an opportunity like never before to free the hostages and end the war.”

“Israel needs to announce its joining deliberations led by President Trump to finalize the last details of the deal. I informed the American administration that Netanyahu has political backing to continue with the move,” Lapid says in a statement.

Qatar calls for ‘complete discussions’ on Trump’s plan to end war, which it says Hamas accepted

Qatar welcomes what it says is Hamas’s agreement to US President Donald Trump’s proposal for ending the war along with its readiness to release all remaining hostages under the terms outlined in the plan.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari also backs Trump’s subsequent announcement calling for “for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate the safe and swift release of hostages.”

Ansari says Qatar and fellow Arab mediator Egypt have begun talks in coordination with the US to “complete discussions on the plan to ensure an end to the war.”

Egypt’s foreign ministry also welcomes Hamas’s response to Trump’s proposal, which Cairo says reflects the terror group’s willingness to spare additional Palestinian civilians along with a desire to “end a dark period in the region’s history.”

The Egyptian statement thanks Trump for his efforts to end the war along with his rejection of Israeli annexation of the West Bank and the displacement of Palestinian people.

Trump says he believes Hamas ‘ready for peace,’ demands Israel ‘immediately stop bombing of Gaza’

US President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, on September 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump says that after reviewing Hamas’s response to his proposal for ending the Gaza war, he now believes that the terror group is “ready for lasting peace” and that therefore “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly.”

“Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that,” Trump writes in a shocking Truth Social post.

This is the first time since returning to office that Trump has called on Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza.

“We are already in discussions on details to be worked out,” he adds.

“This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump says, reiterating his belief that an end to the war in Gaza will pave way for the expansion of the Abraham Accords.

Trump posts Hamas’s statement announcing its response to his proposal to end Gaza war

US President Donald Trump posts on Truth Social a copy of Hamas’s statement announcing the group’s response to his proposal for ending the Gaza war.

He does not comment on the proposal further, but it appears to be a sign that he at least somewhat approves of its contents.

Hamas earlier announced that it has submitted its response to Trump’s proposal, declaring that it is prepared to release all remaining hostages under the terms laid out in the plan and that it is ready to immediately enter negotiations with the mediators to discuss the details.

The Hamas statement stipulated that the hostages would be released “with the provision of the field conditions necessary for the exchange process.”

Hamas also reiterated its willingness to hand over control of Gaza to an independent body of Palestinian technocrats, as envisioned by the US proposal.

“As for what was included in President Trump’s proposal regarding other issues related to the future of the Gaza Strip and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, this… will be discussed through a comprehensive Palestinian national framework, which Hamas will be part of,” the terror group said.

🚨 BREAKING: Hamas Statement regarding Trump's so-called Gaza Peace Plan:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

In an effort to halt the aggression and war of extermination being waged against our steadfast people in the Gaza Strip, and based on national… https://t.co/tlCwmupoys pic.twitter.com/NAVfyKlL9r

— The Arab Eye (@TheArabEye0) October 3, 2025

Trump readying to make public statement on Hamas’s response to his Gaza plan

US President Donald Trump delivers a video statement regarding Hamas's response to his plan for ending the Gaza war on October 3, 2025. (Karoline Leavitt/X)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicates that US President Donald Trump will deliver a video statement shortly regarding Hamas’s response to his proposal for ending the Gaza war.

Leavitt posts a photo of Trump behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and writes, “Behind the Scenes in the Oval Office: President Trump responds to Hamas’ acceptance of his Peace Plan. Stay tuned!”

Qatar confirms receiving Hamas response to US plan for ending Gaza war — source

Qatari mediators have received Hamas’s response to the US plan for ending the Gaza war, a source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.