Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he hopes to announce the release of hostages being held in Gaza “in the coming days”.
In a televised statement, he also said “Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarised – either the easy way or the hard way, but it will be achieved”.
The comments came after Hamas released a statement on Friday in which it agreed to free the hostages under a US peace plan, but did not mention disarmament and sought negotiations on other issues.
Hamas said on Saturday that Israel was continuing to commit “massacres”, after strikes hit Gaza in the morning, and it urged global pressure on Israel.
Indirect ceasefire talks between the parties are set to start in Egypt on Monday.
US President Donald Trump said he would “not tolerate delay” from Hamas to complete a deal.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off… Let’s get this done, FAST.”
He later posted that Israel “has agreed to the initial withdrawal line”, seeming to refer to various lines of Israeli troop withdrawal published alongside the US plan.
The 20-point plan proposes an immediate end to fighting and the release of 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas – as well as the remains of those thought to be dead – in exchange for hundreds of detained Gazans.
In a post on X the Israel Defense Forces said it had issued an order “to advance readiness for the implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan for the release of the hostages”. It added that the safety of IDF troops was “a top priority”.
Credit: bbc.com
