Trump claims Israel ‘agreed to withdrawal’ as part of 20-point Gaza plan
Israel has openly vowed that it will not leave Gaza, and is said to be plotting a long-term presence in the strip with US backing
US President Donald Trump said late on 4 October that Israel has agreed to a withdrawal from Gaza, despite Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu vowing that the army will not leave the besieged enclave.
“After negotiations, Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown to, and shared with, Hamas,” the president said on his Truth Social account on Saturday night.
“When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal, which will bring us close to the end of this 3,000 YEAR CATASTROPHE,” he added. “Thank you for your attention to this matter and, STAY TUNED!”
While speaking to Axios on the same day, Trump said, "We are close" to ending the war in Gaza.
"I said, 'Bibi, this is your chance for victory.' He was fine with it," Trump said, using Netanyahu’s nickname. "He's got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine."
The interview took place hours after Hamas announced it had agreed to the exchange formula outlined in Trump’s 20-point plan. It also reiterated its readiness to hand over control of Gaza to an independent body of Palestinian technocrats. However, the resistance movement stressed that it must convene with other factions on the other aspects of Trump’s plan.
The Israeli army claimed over the weekend that it had shifted to ‘defensive’ operations in Gaza.
After a call by Trump to halt airstrikes on Friday, Netanyahu’s office said he stopped the offensive to "prepare for the immediate implementation of the first phase of the Trump Plan for the immediate release of all hostages."
Trump thanked Israel on Truth Social on Saturday for “temporarily stopping the bombing,” despite deadly airstrikes continuing across Gaza.
Israel carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the strip on 4 October. Scores of Palestinians were killed.
Tel Aviv has openly declared its intention to remain inside Gaza. While the 20-point Trump plan theoretically envisions an eventual withdrawal from the strip, it allows Israeli forces to remain on the perimeters of Gaza and establish a buffer zone until the strip is “secure from terror.”
Hamas has rejected disarmament, while Israel views it as essential for the deal to go through.
“I have instructed the negotiating team to travel to Egypt for talks that will last only a few days. In the first phase, while Hamas releases all hostages, the Israeli army will maintain control deep inside Gaza. In the second phase, Hamas will disarm and the Gaza Strip will be demilitarized. This will happen either diplomatically, according to the Trump plan, or militarily by us,” Netanyahu said on Saturday.
“There will be no tolerance for Hamas’s attempts to stall, buy time, or evade,” he added. Defense Minister Israel Katz also vowed that the Israeli army would remain in Gaza, forcefully disarm Hamas if it refuses to surrender its weapons, and restart the war if the captives are not released.
Israeli state broadcaster KAN reported that Tel Aviv has informed Washington of its intention to maintain a long-term military presence at three strategic locations in Gaza even after the prisoner exchange and phased withdrawal outlined in Trump’s plan. The positions include a buffer zone inside Gaza, the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egyptian border, and “Hill 70” (Tal al-70 or Tal al-Mantar) — a site located east of Shujaiya in Gaza City.
The report added that Washington “understands Israel’s need” to keep troops stationed at these sites beyond the first withdrawal phase. Under the plan, Israeli forces would begin pulling back once all captives are recovered, initially repositioning along an internal “yellow line” before retreating to a “red line,” where foreign troops operating under a US mandate would take over security management.
According to a senior Israeli official who spoke to Channel 12, Hamas has “insisted on releasing the final hostages only after Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza."
"Now, however, Israel will carry out only a tactical withdrawal, and even if all hostages are released, the Israeli army will remain deployed across much of Gaza,” the source added.
"Israel must test Hamas with this trial — let’s see if it releases all the hostages within 72 hours. If it doesn’t, Israel can dismantle it; and if it does — even better: we get the hostages back, and Hamas will continue refusing to disarm and leave Gaza — then Israel can dismantle it,” said the diplomatic correspondent for Israel's Channel 14, Tamir Morag.
“It is very likely that this is a trap set by Trump and Netanyahu for Hamas," he added. A delegation representing the resistance movement is expected to head to Cairo on Sunday for the start of talks on the first phase of Trump’s plan.
The meetings will involve the exchange of messages through the mediators, Egypt and Qatar, who will be in the same building as the Israeli delegation and the US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.