The Japan Times - Trump envoys head to Egypt as Hamas agrees to free Gaza hostages

Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff were expected to finalise details on the release of hostages and discuss a deal pushed by Trump to end the nearly two-year war between Israel and Hamas, a White House official said.

The talks come after Trump urged Israel to halt its bombardment of Gaza, following Hamas's announcement that it was ready to release all the hostages and begin negotiations on the ceasefire proposal.

"The movement announces its approval for the release of all hostages -- living and remains -- according to the exchange formula included in President Trump's proposal," Hamas said in a Friday statement.

Trump later posted on Truth Social: "Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!"

On Saturday, he had a warning for Hamas, telling the group he would "not tolerate delay" on the peace deal.

Israel said Saturday that its troops were still operating in Gaza and warned residents not to return.

At least 39 people were killed in Israeli strikes since dawn Saturday, according to Mohammed Abu Salmiya, head of Gaza's main Al-Shifa Hospital.

Salmiya said the dead included 34 people killed in Gaza City itself, where Israeli forces have carried out a sweeping air and ground assault in recent weeks.

"The Israeli bombardment on Gaza continues with the same intensity and pattern — air strikes, artillery shelling and quadcopter drone fire are ongoing," said Mohammed al-Mughayyir of Gaza's civil defence, a rescue force operating under Hamas authority.

- Call for 'swift negotiations' -

A Hamas official said Egypt, a mediator in the truce talks, would host a conference for Palestinian factions to decide on Gaza's post-war future.

Trump's proposal calls for a halt to hostilities, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's disarmament.

It also stipulates that Hamas and other factions "not have any role in the governance of Gaza", with administration of the territory instead taken up by a technocratic body overseen by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

"President Trump's demand to stop the war immediately is essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli group that has campaigned for the release of captives, said in a statement.

Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the Gaza civil defence agency, told AFP that the night was "very violent", adding that 20 homes were destroyed overnight.

The Israeli military said it was operating in Gaza City.

"The IDF (Israeli military) troops are still operating in Gaza City, and returning to it is extremely dangerous. For your safety, avoid returning north or approaching areas of IDF troop activity anywhere -- including in the southern Gaza Strip," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said on X.

Israeli media reported that the military had shifted to a defensive posture in Gaza following Trump's call, though the military did not confirm this to AFP.

Of those killed in Gaza City, 17 died in an Israeli air strike on the home of the Abdul Aal family in the city's Al-Tuffa neighbourhood, hospitals said.

- Gazans hail Trump -

Jamila al-Sayyid, 24, a resident of Gaza City's Al-Zeitoun neighbourhood, said "I was happy when Trump announced a ceasefire, but the warplanes did not stop."

An AFP journalist in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi reported hearing celebratory cries of "Allahu akbar!" (God is greatest) from tents housing Palestinians as news of Hamas's statement spread.

"The best thing is that President Trump himself announced a ceasefire, and Netanyahu will not be able to escape this time... he is the only one who can force Israel to comply and stop the war," said Sami Adas, 50, who lives in a tent in Gaza City with his family.

The war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 67,074 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

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K.Tanaka--JT