Israel says it is preparing to implement 'first stage' of Trump' plan to end war in Gaza
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip) (AP): Israeli Prime Minister Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is preparing to implement the “first stage” of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.
A statement from the prime minister's office Saturday said Israel would work “in full cooperation” with Trump to end the war in accordance with its principles.
US President Donald Trump on Friday ordered Israel to stop bombing the Gaza Strip after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan to end the nearly two-year war and return all the remaining hostages taken in the October 7, 2023, attack.
Hamas said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians. Senior Hamas officials suggested there were still major disagreements that required further negotiations.
There was no immediate response from Israel, which is largely shut down for the Jewish Sabbath, and Hamas' response fell short of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demands that the group surrender and disarm. Israel had earlier accepted Trump's plan in its entirety.
Trump welcomed the Hamas statement, saying: “I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE."
“Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it's far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on details to be worked out," he wrote on social media.
Hamas said aspects of the proposal touching on the future of the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rights should be decided on the basis of a “unanimous Palestinian stance” reached with other factions and based on international law.
The statement also made no mention of Hamas disarming, a key Israeli demand included in Trump's proposal.
Latest ceasefire effort is widely welcomed
Trump appears keen to deliver on pledges to end the war and return dozens of hostages ahead of the second anniversary of the attack on Tuesday.
Key mediators Egypt and Qatar welcomed the latest developments, and Majed Al Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said they would “continue discussions on the plan.”
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he “urges all parties to seize the opportunity to bring the tragic conflict in Gaza to an end.” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media that “the release of all hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza are within reach!”
The main organisation representing the families of Israeli hostages said Trump's demand to halt the fighting “is essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages." It called on Netanyahu “to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home.”
Trump's plan would end the fighting and return hostages
Earlier, Trump had warned that Hamas must agree to the deal by Sunday evening, threatening an even greater military onslaught.
“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas," Trump wrote Friday on social media. "THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”
Under the plan, which Trump unveiled earlier this week alongside Netanyahu, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — around 20 of them believed to be alive, within three days. It would also give up power and disarm.
In return, Israel would halt its offensive and withdraw from much of the territory, release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow an influx of humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction. Plans to relocate much of Gaza's population to other countries would be shelved.
The territory of some 2 million Palestinians would be placed under international governance, with Trump himself and former British prime minister Tony Blair overseeing it. The plan provides no path for eventual reunification with the Israeli-occupied West Bank in a future Palestinian state.
Palestinians long for an end to the war, but many view this and previous U.S. proposals as strongly favoring Israel.
Hamas officials air objections in TV interviews
Trump's proposal “cannot be implemented without negotiations,” Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official based outside of Gaza, told the Al Jazeera network on Friday.
The Hamas statement said it was willing to return all remaining hostages according to the plan's “formula,” apparently referring to an exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. It also reiterated its longstanding openness to handing power over to a politically independent Palestinian body.
But Abu Marzouk said it might be difficult for Hamas to release all the hostages within 72 hours, because it could take days or weeks to locate the remains of some of the captives.
He said Hamas was willing to hand over its weapons to a future Palestinian body that runs Gaza, but there was no mention of that in the official statement.
Another Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, told Al Araby television that Hamas would refuse foreign administration of the Gaza Strip and that the entry of foreign forces would be “unacceptable.”
US and Israel seek to pressure Hamas
Israel has sought to ramp up pressure on Hamas since ending an earlier ceasefire in March. It sealed the territory off from food, medicine and other goods for 2 1/2 months and has seized, flattened and largely depopulated large areas.
Experts determined that Gaza City had slid into famine shortly before Israel launched a major offensive aimed at occupying it. An estimated 400,000 people have fled the city in recent weeks, but hundreds of thousands more have stayed behind.
Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, said she saw several displaced families staying in the parking lot of Shifa Hospital during a visit on Thursday.
“They are not able to move south because they just cannot afford it,” Cherevko told The Associated Press. “One of the families had three children and the woman was pregnant with her fourth. And there were many other vulnerable cases there, including elderly people and people with disabilities.”
Most of Hamas' top leaders in Gaza and thousands of its fighters have already been killed, but it still has influence in areas not controlled by the Israeli military and launches sporadic attacks.
Hamas has long insisted it will only release the remaining hostages — its sole bargaining chip and potential human shields — in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying Hamas must surrender and disarm.
Second anniversary approaches
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says women and children make up around half the dead.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the UN and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
The offensive has displaced around 90 per cent of Gaza's population, often multiple times, and left much of the territory uninhabitable.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations have tried to end the fighting and bring back the hostages while providing extensive military and diplomatic support to Israel.
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National Herald case: Shivakumar to seek time next week to appear before Delhi police
New Delhi/Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said he will ask for time from Delhi police to appear before them next week, to provide required information as part of the probe into the National Herald case.
He said he will seek time after the ongoing winter session of Karnataka legislature ends on December 19. He will also ask the Delhi police to provide him the FIR copy.
Shivakumar, who is in the national capital, had earlier said that he will appear before the Delhi police on Monday. But, he postponed the plan in order to rush back to Karnataka to participate in the last rites of veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa, scheduled later in the day in Davangere.
"I had to go (to appear before the Delhi police), but I have to go back urgently. I'm asking them for time, stating that I will come next week," Shivakumar told reporters in New Delhi.
"They (Delhi police) have not attached the FIR copy while issuing notice to me. I need FIR copy, because we had already given all the required replies to the ED. I don't know what the FIR says, I only read in papers. They have given notice, I will ask for a FIR copy. I will come next week after the Assembly session."
The Delhi Police had issued a notice to Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress chief, seeking financial and transactional details as part of its probe into the National Herald case.
The notice issued by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) states that Shivakumar is "supposed to be having vital information" pertaining to the National Herald case registered on October 3 this year, against top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
In the notice dated November 29, the EOW had asked Shivakumar to appear before it or provide the requested information by December 19 latest.
Investigators have sought details about his personal background, his association with the Congress party, and a complete break up of funds allegedly transferred by him or associated entities to Young Indian.
To a question on meeting AICC General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, amid the ongoing power tussle between him and CM Siddaramaiah over the Chief Minister post, Shivakumar said when he comes to Delhi, he usually meets every one.
"Whether it is Surjewala or Kharge (AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge) or Venugopal, I will meet everyone. During lunch yesterday I met Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. I have met everyone. What's wrong?" he asked.
Shivakumar was in Delhi to take part in Congress' "Vote Chori" rally on Sunday, and had also participated in the lunch organised by the party for its leaders.
Responding to a question, whether any meeting is planned with leaders today, the Deputy CM said, he and Kharge will be travelling together to Karnataka, to pay last respects to Shamanuru Shivashankarappa.
Asked if he will seek time for a separate meeting with Congress leadership including Rahul Gandhi, during the next visit to Delhi, Sivakumar said, "such things will be there between us in the party.... you don't worry."
