Day 729 of the Israel-Hamas war
US President Donald Trump published a map of the phases of Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, which would begin immediately with the implementation of the Gaza peace plan — once fully accepted by Hamas. The map is a zoomed-in version of the one included in Trump’s initial release of the proposal, which Israel has already agreed to.
This comes as Israel halts its offensive operations in the Gaza Strip to allow room for further negotiations and implementation of the plan, following Trump’s announcement on Friday. The president told Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza” after the Palestinian jihadists of Hamas said they would agree to some of the terms in his plan to end the Gaza war, including releasing hostages, while making no mention of the topic of disarmament.
Israel is preparing for the “immediate implementation of the first phase of the Trump Plan, stipulating the immediate release of all hostages. We will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set out by Israel, which align with President Trump’s vision,” the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that talks on the hostage deal and ending the war will begin on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh. “As part of Egypt’s ongoing efforts in coordination with mediators to end the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, Egypt will host two delegations from Israel and Hamas on October 6 to discuss the terms and details for exchanging all Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners in accordance with President Trump’s proposal.”
The Israeli delegation for the negotiations will consists of Minister Ron Dermer, Coordinator for the Hostages Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, Political Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr. Ophir Falk, and professional representatives from the IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad, the Israeli media says. This is in addition to the already-known US delegation led by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
The Hamas negotiating delegation will leave Doha Sunday for Sharm El-Sheikh, and the Qatari delegation is set to arrive Monday. “Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Egypt later today [Saturday] to finalize the technical details of the hostage release and discuss the lasting peace deal,” a White House official also said.
According to the US plan, Gaza is to be patrolled by Egypt-trained Palestinian security forces after Israeli withdrawal, a Palestinian source close to Hamas told i24NEWS on Saturday. The new Egyptian and Jordanian trained Palestinian security forces will operate under a body of 15 Palestinian technocrats, to be overseen by the Tony Blair-led
Council. The source indicates that at some point the Palestinian administration of the Strip will be taken over by the Palestinian Authority. Read more.
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The hostage coordinator met with the head of the Red Cross delegation during a “preparatory meeting”
Israeli hostage coordinator Gal Hirsch met today with Red Cross delegation head Julien Lerisson. The meeting between the two men was described as a “preparatory meeting” for the outcome of the negotiations, particularly regarding the release of the hostages alive and the bodies of the victims. Hirsch’s office said the meeting covered aspects related to coordination, relations, logistics, and other unspecified issues.
Hezbollah expresses support for Hamas’s position on Trump plan
Statement issued by Hezbollah regarding Hamas’s response to the Trump plan: “Hezbollah expresses its support for Hamas’s position, in consultation and coordination with other Palestinian resistance factions, regarding the Trump plan to end the war in Gaza.”
Trump Plan: hostage release to take place over several days without ceremonies
A source close to the negotiations said that, under Trump’s plan, the hostage release will take place gradually over several days, according to the terms agreed upon during the talks. They will be handed over to the Red Cross and, unlike the recent releases that took place under previous agreements between Israel and Hamas, no ceremony will take place.
Roughly 500 arrested in London for supporting Palestine Action terror group
Nearly 500 people were arrested Saturday in central London for supporting the banned activist group Palestine Action, according to police in the British capital.
The Metropolitan Police said they arrested a total of 492 people in Trafalgar Square, 488 of them “for supporting a proscribed organization.”
Israeli media publishes delegation for Gaza peace plan negotiations
The Israeli delegation for the negotiations will consists of Minister Ron Dermer, Coordinator for the Hostages Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, Political Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr. Ophir Falk, and professional representatives from the IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad, the Israeli media says.
This is in addition to the already-known US delegation led by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
US President Trump posts an image of a hostage release protest to his Truth Social account amid negotiations over his 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan that would end the fighting in Gaza in phased stages and bring the immediate release of all remaining Israeli hostages.
🚨 Sirens blare from Yemen rocket launch
A rocket launch from Yemen triggered red alert sirens across central Israel; the projectile was intercepted by the IDF; no injuries were reported
Talks over first phase of Trump’s plan to begin Monday – report
A diplomatic source told Al-Jazeera technical talks over implementing the first phase of Trump’s plan will begin in Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday.
The Hamas negotiating delegation will leave Doha Sunday for Sharm El-Sheikh, and the Qatari delegation will arrive on Monday, the report said.