With President Donald Trump putting pressure on Hamas to deliver on his Gaza Peace Plan, Prime Minister Netanyahu, on Saturday night, told Israelis that the remaining hostages could return home soon.
In a televised address, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he hopes to announce the release of 48 remaining hostages, of which 20 are thought to be alive — “in the coming days.”
Despite Hamas’s ongoing attempts to water down and sabotage the 20-point Gaza plan, the return of the hostages could be finalized during the weeklong Sukkot festivities that start on Monday. “It is not yet final; we are working on it diligently, and I hope, with G-d’s help, that in the coming days, during the Sukkot holiday, I will be able to inform you about the return of all our hostages, both living and deceased, in one phase, while the IDF remains deep within the Strip and in the controlling areas within it,” he assured.
Israeli negotiators were heading to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to finalize the hostage deal, the prime minister disclosed. “I have instructed the negotiating team, headed by [Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron] Dermer, to go to Egypt to close the technical details of the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said. “Our intention and that of our American friends is to limit this negotiation to a few days.
The Trump “peace plan proposes an immediate end to fighting and the release within 72 hours of 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas – as well as the remains of hostages thought to be dead,” BBC noted recently. These hostages will be exchanged in return for nearly 2000 Palestinian terrorists, including 250 who are currently serving life sentences — mostly for murderous crimes, Israeli news reports suggest.
Prime Minister Netanyahu laid out the two-pronged strategy pursued to force Hamas to release the hostages:
To bring back our remaining 48 hostages, a few weeks ago I instructed the IDF to enter the most important Hamas stronghold – Gaza City.Concurrently, I coordinated a diplomatic move with President Trump and his team that instantly flipped the script. Instead of Israel being isolated – Hamas is isolated.As a result of the intense military pressure we applied and the diplomatic pressure, Hamas was pressured into agreeing to the plan we presented.In the first stage, Hamas will release all of our hostages, and IDF forces will redeploy in a way that the IDF will continue to hold all of the controlling areas deep inside the Strip.
As the war with Hamas and Iranian terrorist proxies nears the two-year mark, Prime Minister Netanyahu recalled the “breaking of the Iranian axis of evil” and “the existential threat of nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles from Iran” under his watch.
“This is a historic achievement that will be recorded in the annals of Israel and also in the annals of nations,” he said. “I thank my friend, our friend, President Trump, who assisted this historic operation by dispatching the B2 planes to bomb the nuclear facility in Fordo, and I thank him for his steadfast support.”
On Sunday, Netanyahu noted that President Trump was “determined” to ensure Hamas fulfills its side of the bargain. The 20-point plan requires Hamas to release all hostages within 72 hours of accepting the agreement. The terrorist group will receive no concessions from Israel unless every single hostage is freed, he said.
The Times of Israel reported Netanyahu’s remarks:
Meeting with members of the right-wing Gvura Forum, which represents families of soldiers killed in action in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says no other element of US President Donald Trump’s plan for a Gaza ceasefire will move ahead until every single hostage is released.“Until the first clause — the release of all the hostages, living and dead — until the last of the hostages, all of them, is transferred to Israeli territory, we will not move on to any other clause,” Netanyahu pledges, according to Hebrew language media.If Hamas doesn’t release the hostages “by the end of the time set by President Trump,” he says, Israel will go back on the offensive in Gaza “with the full backing of all the countries involved.”“Trump’s pressure is increasing,” he tells the group in the 40-minute meeting in Jerusalem. “Trump will not hesitate to wait longer than he has allotted. This time, he is determined.”
President Trump, on Sunday, warned that Hamas would face “complete obliteration” if it refuses to give up control of Gaza. He also noted that Netanyahu was “committed to peace,” and he wanted Hamas to make up its mind “soon.”
CNN reported:
President Donald Trump told CNN Hamas faces “complete obliteration” if the group refuses to cede power and control of Gaza, amid ongoing efforts to push forward his proposed ceasefire plan.The president said he expects clarity “soon” on whether Hamas is genuinely committed to peace. (…)“Yes on Bibi,” Trump said, when asked if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fully on board with ending the bombing campaign in Gaza and supporting the president’s broader vision.Trump added that he is hopeful his ceasefire proposal will become a reality and emphasized that he’s working hard to achieve it.
Writing on Truth Social, President Trump shared a map of Gaza, depicting the “initial withdrawal line” that Israel had agreed to. The “Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective” if Hamas agrees to the terms, he said on Saturday.
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