Gaza, Oct 5: Israeli air strikes killed at least 70 Palestinians across Gaza on Saturday, medical officials said, despite US President Donald Trump’s public call for an immediate halt to bombardments, Al reported.
Hamas announced it had accepted parts of Trump’s 20-point plan aimed at ending the war. Nearly 45 of the dead were in Gaza City, where weeks of Israeli attacks have devastated neighbourhoods and displaced around one million residents, Al Jazeera said.
Among the dead were 18 people, including seven children, killed when an Israeli strike flattened a residential home in Gaza City’s Tuffah district. Medics said several surrounding buildings were also damaged. In al-Mawasi, an area Israel designated as a humanitarian safe zone, two children were killed and at least eight others injured after another strike Al Jazeera noted that the so-called safe zones have been repeatedly targeted in recent months.
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Strikes also hit the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, with Al Jazeera’s correspondent Hind Khoudary saying overwhelmed hospitals could no longer cope due to fuel shortages and destruction. Gaza’s few remaining health facilities are struggling to treat mass casualties. Al Jazeera confirmed that civilians continue to die in areas where the Israeli army had earlier ordered people to evacuate.
President Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Saturday, demanding Hamas speed up captive releases and finalize negotiations on his ceasefire plan. He warned that “all bets will be off” if delays continue. Trump later said Israel had agreed to an initial withdrawal line that would become effective once Hamas confirmed, leading to prisoner exchanges and the first stage of a pullback. Al Jazeera reported that Trump will send Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Egypt to finalize details.
Hamas accepted some parts of Trump’s plan, such as prisoner swaps and Israeli withdrawal, but left unanswered whether it would agree to disarm. Egypt announced it would host delegations from both sides for further talks. Under the plan’s first stage, all captives, dead or alive, would be exchanged for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Al Jazeera noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed his negotiators would travel to Egypt while reiterating that demilitarising Hamas remained a priority.
Despite US pressure, Hamas condemned Israel’s ongoing strikes, saying they exposed Netanyahu’s “lies” about halting operations. The group urged the international community, especially Arab and Islamic states, to act quickly to protect Gaza’s civilians. Analysts told Al Jazeera that Hamas seeks guarantees on political arrangements for Gaza’s future before releasing captives, using them as leverage in negotiations.
Adnan Hayajneh, a professor at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera that Arab leaders also raised concerns over Trump’s plan but most were ignored. He said the proposal resembled “a surrender” for Hamas, leaving the fate of hostages as their strongest bargaining chip. Meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry estimates more than 67,000 people have been killed in the war, with experts suggesting the real toll may be several times higher, Al Jazeera reported.
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