The Israeli government is preparing to ‘immediately implement’ the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan for the release of its hostages held in Gaza, the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement early today.
“In light of Hamas’s response, Israel is preparing to immediately implement the first phase of Trump’s plan for the immediate release of all hostages,” the statement said.
“We will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set forth by Israel that are consistent with President Trump’s vision.”
The statement came soon after Trump called on Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza” in order to facilitate the release of the hostages. The Israeli statement did not address that demand.
Hours earlier, Hamas announced that it was prepared to “immediately” enter negotiations for the release of all hostages according to President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan — a potential breakthrough after months of failed efforts to end the war.
Hamas stopped short of accepting the Trump proposal unconditionally. The militant group said it is ready to immediately enter negotiations through mediators to discuss the details of the exchange and said it is ready to hand over the governance of Gaza to “a Palestinian authority of independents (technocrats) based on Palestinian national consensus and with reliance on Arab and Islamic support.”
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