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.