Israeli strikes kill 39 in Gaza, US envoys head to Cairo to discuss captive releases

The live blog has now ended and will be back tomorrow at 9 AM. You can read more of The New Arab's coverage of Israel's war on Gaza here.

The Israeli army said on Sunday that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, from where Houthi rebels frequently launch attacks they describe as a response to the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF," the Israeli Defense Forces said, using an acronym for the air force.

Israeli forces have detained 19 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Zuweidin, south of Hebron, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa, which reported that the detentions came after Israeli settlers attacked the village and physically assaulted those who were detained.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 70 Palestinians over the last 24 hours, including 47 in Gaza City, according to Gaza's government media office. 

The office said that Israel conducted 93 attacks on the enclave during that period.

US President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Saturday that Israel has agreed to an "initial withdrawal line" for Gaza, which has also been shared with Hamas.

Trump said "when Hamas confirms," a ceasefire will be effective "immediately" and a prisoner exchange will begin, setting the stage for the next phase of Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli ex-captives held that were held in Gaza by Hamas during the war have called on protesters in Israel to continue, saying that they "do not have the privilege to rest" as talks between Hamas and Israel continue through the weekend.

Former captive Gadi Mozes said, "we do not have the privilege to rest - the protests are important," according to the Times of Israel, adding, "take to the streets or anywhere where you have influence." 

"For too long, it seemed like returning the hostages and ending the war were impossible. Now is the time to make the impossible possible."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Saturday to disarm Hamas, either through the peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump or by military means.

"Hamas will be disarmed ... it will happen either diplomatically via Tump's plan or militarily by us," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.

"I also told Washington that. It will be achieved either the easy way or the hard way, but it will be achieved."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that he hoped that all hostages held in Gaza would be returned home in the coming days.

"I hope that in the coming days we will be able to bring back all our hostages... during the Sukkot holidays," Netanyahu said in a televised statement, adding that "military and diplomatic pressure" had compelled Hamas to agree to release the captives.

The Jewish holiday of Sukkot begins on Monday and lasts until the following Monday.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli bombardment had killed at least 57 people since dawn on Saturday, even after US President Donald Trump urged Israel to halt its attacks on the territory.

"The death toll from the ongoing Israeli bombardment since dawn today stands at 57, including 40 in Gaza City alone," Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the agency, told AFP.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

Bassal said the victims in Gaza City included 18 people who were killed in an Israeli strike targeting the home of the Abdul Aal family in the city's Al-Tuffa neighbourhood.

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, head of Gaza's main Al-Shifa Hospital, had earlier told AFP that at least 39 people had been killed since dawn, including dozens in Gaza City.

"Since President Trump called on Israel to stop bombing Gaza, Israel has actually escalated its attacks," said Mahmud Al-Ghazi, 39, a resident of Al-Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City.

"Today, Israel bombed several homes full of civilians, like the Abdul Aal family home...The shelling continues with artillery and drones dropping bombs on civilians' homes and directly targeting people," he said.

"Who will stop Israel now? We need the negotiations to move faster to stop this genocide and the ongoing bloodshed," he added.

Israeli media reported that the military had shifted to a defensive posture in Gaza following Trump's call, though the military did not confirm this to AFP.

Israel's far-right have blasted Netanyahu's agreement to Trump's Gaza peace plan, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling it a "grave mistake", and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatening to quit the government if Hamas continues to exist after the release of Israeli captives.

US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan was a "vital opportunity" to stop bloodshed in the Palestinian territory "once and for all", UN rights chief Volker Turk said Saturday.

Turk hopes the momentum from the US president's peace plan will "pave the way for a permanent cessation of hostilities, followed by recovery and reconstruction," his office said on X as it urged a resolution "in line with international human rights and humanitarian laws, and the much needed two-state solution".

The World Health Organization also welcomed the plan, particularly the prospect of reconstructing hospitals.

"In two years, we have never been closer to securing peace than now. We cannot miss this opportunity. Too many lives been lost and shattered," the UN health agency's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

Hamas and Israel will engage in indirect talks in Cairo on Sunday and Monday to secure the release of Israeli captives and Palestinian detainees, Egyptian state-linked media reported Saturday.

Al-Qahera News, which is closely linked to Egypt's intelligence service, reported that both delegations "have begun moving to launch talks in Cairo tomorrow and the day after, to discuss arranging the ground conditions for the exchange of all detainees and prisoners, in accordance with Trump's proposal".

Tens of thousands of people marched through Barcelona on Saturday in support of Palestinians and demanding an end to arms trade with Israel, one of a series of protests planned across Spain.

Marching behind a huge red banner reading: "Stop the genocide in Palestine. End the arms trade with Israel", the demonstrators - who police said numbered 70,000 - marched peacefully through the city centre.

They chanting slogans including "Boycott Israel" and "Free Palestine".

More marches were planned for Saturday afternoon in various Spanish cities, including Madrid.

pic.twitter.com/gRcnnjPqf1

— L'Accent (@laccent) October 4, 2025

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting "Free Palestine" and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organisers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

Italy's right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome's main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

Thousands march by the colosseum in Rome, Italy, in massive pro-Palestine rally held in solidarity with the people of Palestine, waving Palestinian flags.

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— Palestine Highlights (@PalHighlight) October 4, 2025

President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and a senior US envoy are heading to Egypt Saturday to finalise captive release details, a White House official said after Hamas reacted positively to a peace plan to end two years of war.

A White House official confirmed that Kushner and Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff are heading to the Middle East to address the finalisation of details on the release of Israeli captives and to discuss the deal pushed by Trump to bring an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

After Hamas said it was ready to release all captives and discuss details on the peace plan, Trump urged an immediate halt to the fighting in Gaza.

US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that he will not tolerate any delay from Hamas regarding his peace plan for Gaza.

Hamas Friday night said it agreed to Trump's proposal but wanted clarifications on some clauses, with regards to disarming the group and its future role in governing Gaza.

"I appreciate 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," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"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!"

Two Palestinians were injured on Friday during an attack by Israeli settlers on the town of Deir Jarir in the occupied West Bank. According to local sources, the young men were struck by rubber-coated metal bullets and required medical treatment following the assault.

Elsewhere in the southern Hebron region, settlers torched a Palestinian-owned vehicle, and uprooted and destroyed several trees. In the village of Al-Mughayyir, settlers—accompanied by Israeli military forces—stormed agricultural lands in a show of force.

Further north, Bedouin communities in Shalla al-Auja near Jericho were reportedly targeted by armed settlers.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces conducted military raids in the villages of Dura and Qaryut. The incursions sparked confrontations between residents and soldiers, with reports of arrests and property damage during the operations.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris has called for an immediate end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, following what he described as a positive response from Hamas regarding ceasefire efforts.

"This moment to end the unconscionable human suffering must be grasped by all. Stop the bombing, silence the guns, end the famine and allow a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza," Harris said in a statement.

"There is also an opportunity to agree a path to a permanent peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Ireland steadfastly supports a Two State Solution," he added.

The South African government on Saturday welcomed Hamas' decision to release all Israeli captives under the terms of a U.S. plan for Gaza, urging Israel to reciprocate by releasing Palestinian political prisoners and children.

"We welcome the decision by Hamas to release all Israeli hostages and its stated readiness for further engagement. This decision must be met with reciprocal action by the State of Israel", South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said in a statement.

In 2023, South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide over its devastating war in Gaza, an allegation Israel vehemently denies.

Israel said on Saturday that it had deported 137 more activists who were detained while taking part in an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.

The Israeli foreign ministry said those deported were citizens of the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Jordan and several other countries.

The ministry said in a post on X that "137 more provocateurs of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla were deported today to Turkey".

"Israel seeks to expedite the deportation of all provocateurs," it added.

Syrian state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV reported Saturday that Israeli forces detained four individuals during a cross-border incursion in Daraa province, southern Syria.

According to a post on X, the channel said, "Israeli occupation forces arrested four young men from the village of Jumla in western Daraa countryside during a pre-dawn raid on Saturday."

There has been no immediate comment from Syrian authorities regarding the incident, which comes amid ongoing Israeli incursions into Syrian territory despite reports of de-escalation talks between Damascus and Tel Aviv.

Since the fall of the Assad regime in December, Israel has repeatedly violated Syrian sovereignty through hundreds of airstrikes and territorial expansion, claiming it border security.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday welcomed Hamas' positive reaction to a peace deal proposed by US President Donald Trump, and said the group was "ready for peace".

"Hamas has shown, as it has done many times before, that it is ready for peace. Thus, a window of opportunity has opened for lasting peace in our region," Erdogan told a ceremony in Istanbul.

More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the start of the war on 7 October 2023, Gaza's health ministry said Saturday.

The ministry said the death toll was now 67,074, and 169,430 wounded.

It added that hospitals in the Gaza Strip received "66 martyrs and 265 wounded" over the past 24 hours as a result of the ongoing Israeli attacks.

UN rights chief Volker Turk on Saturday said US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan was a "vital opportunity" to stop bloodshed and misery in the Palestinian territory "once and for all".

"This is a vital opportunity for all parties and influential states to pursue in good faith and stop - once and for all - the carnage and the suffering in Gaza, to flood the strip with humanitarian aid, and to ensure the release of the hostages and numerous detained Palestinians," his office said on X.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has welcomed Hamas' response to a US peace plan to end the war in Gaza, as he called for an immediate ceasefire.

Spain, Italy and Portugal geared up Saturday for mass demonstrations to protest Israel’s war in Gaza.

Protests in Spain's Madrid and Barcelona have been called for weeks ago, while calls for demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon followed widespread anger after the Israeli interception of a humanitarian aid flotilla that had set sail from Barcelona, trying to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Italy already saw more than 2 million people rally on Friday across the country in a one-day general strike to support the residents of Gaza.

Turkey said 36 of its citizens were expected to return home via a special flight on Saturday afternoon, after Israel intercepted a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

"We expect 36 of our nationals on the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels seized by Israeli forces in international waters will return to our country this afternoon via a special flight," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said on X, adding that the final number has not been finalised.

The spokesman said efforts were underway to complete the procedures for the remaining citizens "as soon as possible so that they can come to Turkey".

He added that third-country nationals were also planned to be on board the flight.

Turkey has called the Israeli interception "an act of terrorism" and on Thursday said it had opened an investigation after Israeli forces arrested Turkish citizens on board the flotilla.

Iran said Saturday it executed six death-row inmates it alleges carried out attacks in the country’s oil-rich southwest on behalf of Israel.

The men were put to death as part of a wider wave of executions, believed to be the highest in decades after the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June.

Iran said the men killed police officers and security forces, as well as orchestrated bombings targeting sites around Khorramshahr in Iran’s restive Khuzestan province.

A senior Hamas official said Saturday that Egypt would organise a conference for Palestinian factions to decide on the post-war future of the Gaza Strip, after the group accepted to release captives under a US ceasefire plan.

Egypt will host an "intra-Palestinian dialogue on Palestinian unity and the future of Gaza, including the administration of the Gaza Strip", the official told AFP.

The Israeli military's Arabic spokesperson issued a warning on Saturday for residents of Gaza city, saying it remained a "dangerous" combat zone.

He urged residents in a post on X to avoid going north in the enclave or nearing any areas where the military operates.

Axios earlier reported that the Israeli military will shift to defensive operations in Gaza and halt its plan to seize Gaza City.

#عاجل ‼️إعلان وإنذار عاجل إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة
🔴المنطقة الواقعة شمال وادي غزة ما زالت تعتبر منطقة قتال خطيرة. البقاء في هذه المنطقة يشكّل خطرًا كبيرًا ولذلك يبقى شارع الرشيد مفتوحًا أمامكم للانتقال جنوبًا
⭕️قوات جيش الدفاع لا تزال تُطوّق مدينة غزة حيث تشكل محاولة العودة إليها… pic.twitter.com/882HY8gu1l

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 4, 2025

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday welcomed Hamas' positive reaction to a peace deal proposed by US President Donald Trump, and said halting the war in Gaza was "within reach".

"Hamas' stated readiness to release hostages and engage on the basis of the recent proposal is encouraging," von der Leyen wrote on X. "This moment must be seized. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages are within reach."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly approved military operations on two vessels last month that were part of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian supporters, CBS News reported on Friday, citing two U.S. intelligence officials.

Israeli forces on September 8 and 9 launched drones from a submarine and dropped incendiary devices onto the boats that were moored outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said, causing a fire, according to the report.

Israel's political echelon instructed the military to reduce offensive activity in Gaza after it said it was preparing for an "immediate implementation" of the first stage of U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza plan following Hamas' response on the plan, Israeli media reported.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, endorsed the group's response to U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza, saying it represents the stance of the Palestinian resistance.

Islamic Jihad's approval of the plan would facilitate Hamas' release of captives both groups hold in Gaza.

The main Israeli group representing the families of captives held in Gaza said on Saturday that it was "essential" to immediately end the war.

"President Trump's demand to stop the war immediately is essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

"We call on Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home," it added.