Israel scales back Gaza assault after Trump demands halt to bombing

CAIRO/GAZA — Israel slowed its Gaza offensive on Saturday after President Donald Trump demanded it stop bombing in response to a declaration by Hamas that it was ready to free hostages under his plan to end the two-year-old war.

Despite a relatively quieter start to the day compared to recent weeks, at least 21 people were killed in bombardments and air strikes in the devastated Palestinian enclave since Trump demanded Israel halt its attacks late on Friday.

Eleven people died in sporadic incidents, while 10 people, including children, were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli strike on a house in Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, medics said. The attack damaged several other buildings nearby.

Earlier, the Gaza health ministry said in a morning update that Israeli fire killed at least 66 Palestinians across the enclave in the past 24 hours.

Trump urges Hamas to move fast on his Gaza plan

On Saturday, Trump said he appreciated that Israel had “temporarily stopped the bombing,” and he urged Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, to move quickly on his plan “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!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Hamas had drawn a welcoming response from Trump on Friday by saying it accepted certain key parts of his 20-point peace proposal, including ending the war, Israel’s withdrawal and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives.

In Washington, a White House official said on Saturday that Trump was sending his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Egypt to finalize the technical details of the hostage release and discuss a lasting peace deal.

Egypt’s state-affiliated television channel Al Qahera News said Palestinian and Israeli delegations would also be present for “indirect talks” on the Trump plan.

Hamas’s response to the plan drew a chorus of optimistic statements by world leaders, who urged an end to the deadliest conflict involving Israel since its creation in 1948 and called for the release of Israelis still held in the enclave.

Another possible boost to peace hopes came with a supportive statement from the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which is smaller than Hamas but seen as more hardline.

The group, which also holds hostages, on Saturday endorsed Hamas’s response — a move that could help pave the way for the release of Israelis still held by both parties.

Palestinians look for ‘ray of hope’ after Hamas response

Hamas’s stance, and its backing by Islamic Jihad, may raise the spirit of Gazans, who had watched one ceasefire effort after another fail as Israeli strikes hit the strip over the past two years, creating a humanitarian crisis and displacing millions.

“May the suffering lift off the people of Gaza, the people of Gaza are among the oppressed of the earth, and any ray of hope for the oppressed people is a victory,” said Sharif al-Fakhouri, resident of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

Amid the optimism several issues remain unresolved, such as whether Hamas will agree to disarm, one of Israel’s top demands.

Some Palestinians expressed fear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads Israel’s most far-right government ever, will ultimately withdraw from any plan to end the war.

“What is important is that Netanyahu does not sabotage this, because now that Hamas agreed, Netanyahu will disagree, as he usually does,” said Jerusalem resident Jamal Shihada.

Worldwide support for end to ‘horrific war’

Netanyahu’s office said Israel was preparing for “immediate implementation” of the first stage of Trump’s Gaza plan for the release of Israeli hostages following Hamas’s response.

Shortly after, Israeli media reported that the country’s political echelon had instructed the military to reduce offensive activity in Gaza.

Trump has invested significant political capital in efforts to end the war that has left U.S. ally Israel increasingly isolated on the world stage.

Trump said on Friday he believed Hamas had shown it was “ready for a lasting PEACE” and he put the onus on Netanyahu’s government. “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Domestically, the prime minister is caught between growing pressure to end the war — from hostage families and a war-weary public — and demands from hardline members of his coalition who insist there must be no let-up in Israel’s campaign in Gaza.

Israel began attacking Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says 48 hostages remain, 20 of whom are alive.

Israel’s campaign has killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

“It’s time to end this horrific war and bring every single hostage back home. We are for rebuilding and the rehabilitation,” said Efrat Machikawa, an active member of Israel’s hostage families forum and the niece of Gadi Moses, a hostage who was released in January.