Israel Continues Gaza Strikes Despite Trump's Call for Ceasefire and Hamas Peace Proposal

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Israel conducted air strikes on Gaza on Saturday, according to local authorities, following US President Donald Trump's call for Israel to cease bombing operations. Trump had stated that Hamas was prepared for peace, willing to release hostages, and had accepted certain conditions of a US plan to end the conflict.

Local authorities reported that Israeli strikes killed six people across the Gaza Strip. Four individuals died when a house in Gaza City was hit, while another strike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza claimed two more lives, according to medical workers and local officials.

Early Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that Israel was preparing for "immediate implementation" of the first stage of Trump's Gaza plan for hostage release, following Hamas' response to the proposal.

Shortly thereafter, Israeli media sources indicated that the country's political leadership had directed the military to reduce offensive operations in Gaza.

The Israeli military chief of staff issued a statement instructing forces to prepare for implementing the first phase of Trump's plan, though the statement did not explicitly mention whether military activities in Gaza would be scaled back.

Hamas, the Palestinian organization governing Gaza, responded to Trump's 20-point plan after the US president had set a Sunday deadline for acceptance, warning of serious consequences otherwise.

Trump, who has positioned himself as uniquely capable of achieving peace in Gaza, has invested considerable political capital in efforts to end the two-year war that has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties and increasingly isolated US ally Israel on the global stage.

On Friday, Trump expressed his belief that Hamas had demonstrated readiness for "lasting PEACE" and placed responsibility on Netanyahu's government to act.

"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.

"We are already in discussions on details to be worked out. This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East."

Netanyahu's office stated that Israel "will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set out by Israel, which align with President Trump's vision."

Prior to Israel's latest announcements, families of those held captive by Hamas in Gaza urged Netanyahu "to immediately order negotiations for the return of all hostages."

Domestically, the prime minister faces conflicting pressures—growing demands to end the war from hostage families and a war-weary public on one side, and insistence from hardline members of his far-right coalition that Israel's campaign in Gaza continue unabated on the other.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli figures. Israel reports that 48 hostages remain, with 20 believed to be alive.

Israel's military campaign has resulted in more than 66,000 deaths in Gaza, primarily civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. The assault has destroyed much of the territory, while aid restrictions have triggered famine in parts of Gaza, with dire humanitarian conditions throughout the enclave.