Following instructions from the Israeli government, the IDF switched overnight into Saturday to only defensive operations in the Gaza Strip, pausing the operation to take control of Gaza City. The army said that forces in Gaza are focused on defensive operations, but are not pulling back and are holding the curent lines.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel "is preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of Trump's plan for the release of all hostages."
Israel is preparing for the possibility that negotiations on the plan will begin soon, and that negotiating teams have been preparing in recent days to depart for the resumption of talks. Simultaneously, defense officials have begun examining which Palestinian prisoners could be included in the list of prisoners Israel will agree to release as part of the deal.
In a statement issued overnight by his office, Netanyahu added: "We will continue to work in full coordination with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set by Israel, which align with President Trump's vision."
Netanyahu's statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said that Hamas is "ready for peace," adding that Israel "must stop the bombings so we can quickly secure the release of the hostages."
Later, the Israeli army released a statement saying it had begun "readiness for the implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan for the release of the hostages. At the same time, it was emphasized that the safety of IDF troops is a top priority and that all IDF capabilities will be allocated to the Southern Command to ensure the protection of the troops."
Over the past week, the IDF has been reining in its operations in Gaza in order to not harm the negotiations. Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir held a situational assessment in Gaza, during which he made clear that senior officers in the field must be responsible and avoid incidents with a high number of noncombatant casualties, which could hinder talks.
The army believes that a strike that kills many civilians, or a Hamas operation that would leave many IDF casualties, could both lead to another escalation and cause the deal to collapse.
In an official statement on Friday evening, Hamas said that it is willing to release all Israeli hostages, alive and dead, as part of Trump's proposal to end the nearly two-year war. Hamas added that it is ready to begin negotiations over the details of the proposal.
In its official response, Hamas said it is willing to hand over administration of Gaza to an independent Palestinian body "in national coordination and based on Arab-Islamic support." According to the Trump plan, the administration of Gaza during the transitional period will be handed over to a "Palestinian committee" overseen by an international body, the "Board of Peace," led by Trump himself and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
According to Trump's plan, the Israeli army wouldn't be required to fully retreat from Gaza during the first and second stages, but rather only at an undefined point in the future, when Gaza "is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat."
The plan dictates that once both sides agree to it, "Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed-upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal."
The plan also states that "the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the International Stabilization Force."
Ben Samuels and Yaniv Kubovich contributed to this report