The Japan Times - Israel troops still operating in Gaza after Trump, hostage family appeals

Trump issued the appeal to the key US ally after Palestinian militant group Hamas said it was ready to release all hostages and start talks on the details of his plan to end the nearly two-year war.

"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 Friday in a 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!"

A senior Hamas official said Saturday the group was "ready to begin negotiations immediately to finalise all issues".

Another 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 said in a statement.

"We call on Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home."

- Heavy bombardment -

But despite Trump's appeal, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israel carried out dozens of attacks on Gaza City overnight, with nearby hospitals reporting casualties.

"It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump's call to halt the bombing," spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force which operates under Hamas authority, said 20 homes were destroyed overnight.

The Israeli military said it was operating in Gaza City and urged residents not to return.

"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.

Gaza City's Baptist Hospital said it received casualties from a strike on a home in the city's Tuffah neighbourhood, including four dead and several wounded.

Further south, Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said two children were killed and eight people wounded in a drone strike on a tent in a camp for displaced Gazans.

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

- Hopeful reactions -

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

"This is a day of joy, a great day. The war has been raging for two years," said Sami Adas, 50, who lives in a tent in Gaza City with his family.

"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."

The latest developments drew hopeful reactions from world leaders, including those of Britain, France and Germany, as well as the UN chief.

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 66,288 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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M.Saito--JT