Israeli bombing of Gaza City has “significantly subsided” though at least five Palestinians were killed, a hospital official said Saturday, as Israel’s army said the country’s leaders had instructed it to prepare for the first phase of the US plan to end the war in Gaza.
Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike, said an official who was not authorized to speak to the media on the record. The official said no forces have been removed from the territory.
Still, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiyah told the AP that Israeli strikes killed five Palestinians across Gaza City, while bombing had “significantly subsided.”
The army statement came hours after President Donald Trump ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza once Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan. Trump welcomed the Hamas statement but on Saturday warned that “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off.” He noted that Israel had “temporarily stopped the bombing.”
Trump appears determined to deliver on pledges to end the war and return all hostages ahead of the second anniversary on Tuesday of the attack that sparked it. His proposal unveiled earlier this week has widespread international support.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel was committed to ending the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 Oct 2023. Netanyahu is under increasing pressure to end the conflict. The official told the AP that Netanyahu put out the rare late-night statement on the Sabbath, saying that Israel has started to prepare for Trump’s plan due to pressure from the US.
The official also said a negotiating team was getting ready to travel, but there was no date specified.
A senior Egyptian official said US envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Egypt to head the US negotiating team in the talks to release the Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli detention. Delegations from Israel and Hamas will join the talks, which also will discuss maps showing the expected withdrawal of Israeli forces from certain areas in Gaza, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media.
The official involved in the ceasefire negotiations also said Arab mediators are preparing for a comprehensive dialogue among Palestinians aimed at unifying their position toward Gaza’s future. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful militant group in Gaza, said it accepted Hamas’ response to the Trump plan. The group had rejected the proposal days earlier.
AP
