Oct. 4 (UPI) — Israel is preparing for a cease-fire and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas within 10 days after the militant group agreed to parts of the U.S. peace plan.
During a nationally televised speech on Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said negotiators in Egypt, where talks are scheduled to start on Sunday, will work on a timeline for the release of the hostages.
Netanyahu said Israel is “on the brink of a very big achievement. It’s still not final. We are working hard on it.”
Netanyahu hopes that during the Sukkot holiday, which begins Monday and lasts seven days, he will be able to announce that all the hostages have been returned. The proposal calls for them to be released within 72 hours of acceptance by all sides.
“I hope that, with God’s help, in the coming days, during the Sukkot holiday, we will be able to announce the return of all the hostages — the living and the slain, in one go, with the IDF still deployed deep in Gaza,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister said Hamas will be demilitarized through the proposal, or through military action.
“But in all cases, this will be achieved,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew.
Israel believes there are 20 living hostages in Gaza and 27 that are presumed dead. In the nearly two years since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, 138 hostages have been released, including during truces, while eight have been rescued by Israeli military.
“But I never gave up on the rest of the hostages,” Netanyahu said. “And I never gave up on the rest of the war aims.”
Among leaders Netanyahu will dispatch to Egypt are Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, government hostage point person Gal Hirsch, Israel Defense Forces hostage point person Nitzan Alon, the Shin Bet’s deputy director, and Mossad and defense officials, Channel 12 reported.
Hamas’ team will also go to Cairo, Al Jazeera reported.
Trump is sending special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to Cairo for discussions.
Kushner, after leaving the White House in 2021 as special assistant, launched a private equity firm, Affinity Partners, which quickly received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The UAE and Qatar have also invested into his firm.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday afternoon that he appreciates “that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed. Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again. Let’s get this done, FAST. Everyone will be treated fairly!”
But CNN reported that 17 Palestinians were killed, including children, after a strike hit a residential home in Gaza City’s Al-Daraj neighborhood at 5 p.m. local time Saturday. Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital provided video to CNN of children being rushed to the hospital.
In all, 61 people were killed on Saturday, including 45 in Gaza City alone, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel’s military said it was easing offensive operations early Saturday to prepare conditions for the release of the hostages but warned Gaza City remains a dangerous combat zone.
Hamas reacted positively to the proposal on Friday.
On Monday, Trump and Netanyahu announced at the White House that Israel agreed to a 20-point proposal to end the conflict that began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded Israel. He called it a “big day.”
The two leaders spoke by phone, with Trump recounting in an interview with Axios, that he said “‘Bibi, this is your chance for victory.’ He was fine with it. He’s got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine.”
On Saturday, the two leaders coordinated “a diplomatic move that flipped the situation at once” while IDF troops were pressing into Gaza City. “Instead of Israel being isolated, Hamas will be isolated,” he said.
Most Israeli leaders from different political perspectives approve the plan.
Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir threatened he will quit the government “if, after the release of the hostages, Hamas continues to exist. We will not be part of a national defeat that would be shameful and that would become a ticking time bomb for the next massacre.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Saturday that he “won’t let” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners “derail” the plan.
“In less than two hours from now, when Shabbat ends and you hear countless threats from (Bezalel) Smotrich and (Itamar) Ben Gvir, remember — they have nothing to threaten with. We won’t let them derail the deal,” Lapid said in a statement.
Egypt plans to host an “intra-Palestinian dialogue on Palestinian unity and the future of Gaza, including the administration of the Gaza Strip,” an official told CNN.
On Friday, Hamas said it “will be included (in) and will contribute with full responsibility” to a “comprehensive national Palestinian framework” although Trump’s plan said Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza would play no role in governing there.
Hamas also has asked for clarity on the terms of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel.
United Nations’ Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk said Saturday that the agreement is a “vital opportunity” to end the “carnage and the suffering in Gaza,” plus ensure the release of Israeli hostages and detained Palestinians alike.
Other nations’ leaders were also encouraged.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Hamas’ commitment to peace “must be followed up without delay,” while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “We call on all sides to implement the agreement without delay.”
The death toll has passed 67,000 Palestinians since the start of the way, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, while nearly 170,000 others have been injured.
