Israel has reportedly ordered its forces to halt the planned occupation of Gaza City and shift to defensive operations, even as heavy bombardments continued overnight following Hamas’s acceptance of US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire and prisoner-release proposal.
According to Israel's Army Radio, the Israeli political leadership had instructed the army to "scale down its activity in Gaza to a minimum" after late-night consultations with US officials, limiting operations to defensive measures in the enclave.
The development came after Hamas announced on Friday that it had accepted the prisoner-exchange clause of Trump’s 20-point plan, which the US president described as "a sign of readiness for peace".
Trump urged Israel to "stop the bombing immediately", but civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "it was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump’s call to halt the bombing".
Bassal added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight attacks.
Gaza City’s Baptist Hospital said it had received several wounded and four dead from a strike on a home in the Tuffah neighbourhood, while Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis reported that two children were killed and eight others injured in a drone strike on a tent in a camp for displaced Gazans.
Earlier on Saturday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was "preparing for the immediate implementation of Trump’s plan to release all the prisoners" following Hamas’s response, according to Army Radio.
The Israeli army also said that Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi had "issued instructions to raise readiness to implement the first phase of Trump’s plan" to recover Israeli captives.
Axios reported that Israel would shift to a defensive posture and suspend its plan to seize Gaza City, suggesting Washington had pressed Netanyahu’s government to de-escalate following Hamas’s acceptance of the proposal. The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, meanwhile, warned Gaza City residents on X that the area remained a “dangerous combat zone” and urged them not to travel north or approach areas where the army operates.
Meanwhile, Hamas said on Saturday that the Palestinian Islamist group was ready to start talks to resolve all outstanding issues under Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal. "We are ready to begin negotiations immediately to finalise all issues," a senior Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The group’s Friday statement confirmed its willingness to release all hostages held in the Gaza Strip under the clause related to prisoner exchange, but did not address calls for disarmament or exile from Gaza after the war’s end.
In a further sign of consensus among Palestinian factions, the Islamic Jihad movement announced its support for Hamas’s response to the plan.
"Hamas’ (reaction) to Trump’s plan represents the position of the Palestinian resistance factions, and the Islamic Jihad participated responsibly in the consultations that led to this decision," it said in a statement.
The group’s endorsement could help facilitate the release of hostages held by both movements in Gaza.
Channel 12 quoted a senior Israeli official as saying Netanyahu was "surprised" by Trump’s call for a ceasefire, believing Hamas’s response to be "negative". In contrast, Israeli security officials reportedly viewed Hamas’s reply as "a path toward reaching a deal".
The Forum of Families of Israeli Captives urged Netanyahu to enter "effective and swift negotiations". In a statement, it said: "The Hostages’ Families Forum supports President Trump’s determination to bring back all the hostages and end the war. The president’s demand for an immediate halt to the war is essential, as it will prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages."
Despite mounting international pressure, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continued through Saturday morning.
Smoke was seen rising from several neighbourhoods of Gaza City as rescue teams searched through rubble for survivors.