CAIRO/WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said he hopes to finalize a Gaza peace plan in his upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, even as Israeli tanks pressed deeper into Gaza City and Hamas claimed it had lost contact with two hostages held there.
The fate of the two captives, which resonates strongly in Israel, could weigh heavily on Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu in Washington. Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, urged Israel to pull troops back and suspend airstrikes on Gaza City for 24 hours to allow its fighters to locate and retrieve the hostages.
In a phone interview with Reuters on Sunday, Trump said he had received a “very good response” to his 21-point peace plan proposal from both Israeli and Arab leaders, adding, “everybody wants to make a deal.” Hamas, however, said it had not received any proposal from Trump or international mediators.
Israel has intensified its ground assault on Gaza City, demolishing entire districts and ordering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee to makeshift camps. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said the offensive is aimed at destroying Hamas. Despite the ongoing fighting, discussions on a possible diplomatic resolution to the nearly two-year-old war have gained traction in recent days.
Trump’s plan includes the return of all Israeli hostages, both living and dead, an end to Israeli strikes on Qatar, and renewed dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians for “peaceful coexistence.” Netanyahu has reiterated that Hamas must disarm or face defeat, though he told Fox News that a ceasefire agreement could potentially allow for amnesty and the escorting of Hamas leaders out of Gaza. Hamas has rejected both disarmament and the idea of its leaders’ expulsion, vowing never to give up its weapons while Palestinians continue to fight for statehood.
On Sunday, the Al-Qassam Brigades called on Israel to withdraw troops from the Sabra and Tel Al-Hawa districts and suspend flights over the area from 1500 GMT to allow them to reach the two hostages. The Israeli military did not directly respond to the request but reaffirmed its operations would continue, ordering residents in Sabra and nearby areas to evacuate ahead of imminent strikes on Hamas targets.
Residents and medics reported Israeli tanks pushing further into Sabra, Tel Al-Hawa, Sheikh Radwan, and Al-Naser, edging closer to central and western Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 77 people were killed in Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours. Civil Emergency Service officials reported that Israel denied 73 rescue requests for the evacuation of wounded Palestinians, despite pleas routed through international organizations.
The two hostages’ families have asked that their identities not be disclosed. According to Israeli figures, the war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli territory in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages. Forty-eight remain in Gaza, including 20 who are believed to be alive.
Palestinian health authorities report that more than 66,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. Nearly all homes have been damaged or destroyed, and 2.3 million residents are facing a deepening humanitarian crisis. The Israeli military says Hamas has been reduced to a guerrilla force and no longer has governing capacity.
Israel launched its long-anticipated ground offensive on Gaza City on September 16 after weeks of escalating airstrikes. In the past 24 hours alone, the Israeli air force said it had struck 140 military targets, including militants and what it described as military infrastructure.
The World Food Programme estimates that between 350,000 and 400,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City since last month, though hundreds of thousands remain. The Israeli military previously estimated the city’s population at about one million in August.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
