Netanyahu announces likely return of ALL hostages within the coming days
Israeli PM says that while "it is not yet final…I hope...during the Sukkot holiday, I will be able to inform you about the return of all our hostages, both living and deceased.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the likely imminent return of all remaining hostages from Gaza, saying that while “it is not yet final…I hope, with G-d’s help, that in the coming days, during the Sukkot holiday, I will be able to inform you about the return of all our hostages, both living and deceased.”
In a televised address to the Israeli people on Saturday evening, Netanyahu said that “we are on the verge of a very great achievement”. The Sukkot holiday is due to start on Monday evening.
Last week, US President Donald Trump issued what appeared to be an ultimatum to both Israel and Hamas for a final deal. In an interview with Axios’s Barak Ravid, Trump described how his conversation with the Israeli leader: “I said, ‘Bibi, this is your chance for victory.’ He was fine with it. “He’s got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine.”
The 20 point plan put forward by Trump last week, publicly accepted by Mr Netanyahu, states that “If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. 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.”
It also says that “within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned. Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after 7 October 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.”
The Trump plan specifies that Gaza “will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza”, and that “Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt.”
Hamas’s response to the Trump plan, believed to have been drafted with the help of mediators, agrees to the release of “all Israeli prisoners, both living and dead”, as well as the handover to an independent Palestinian body. It does not outright refuse some of the later points regarding the future of the Gaza Strip, but says that “they are to be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework. Hamas will be part of it and will contribute to it with full responsibility.” Trump responded by indicating his belief that Hamas are ready for peace.
In his broadcast, Netanyahu claimed that “to bring back our remaining 48 hostages, a few weeks ago I instructed the IDF to enter the most important Hamas stronghold – Gaza City. Concurrently, I coordinated a diplomatic move with President Trump and his team that instantly flipped the script. Instead of Israel being isolated – Hamas is isolated. As a result of the intense military pressure we applied and the diplomatic pressure, Hamas was pressured into agreeing to the plan we presented.”
Meanwhile, more than 200,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, unveiling a banner with a direct appeal to President Trump: “It’s Now or Never”.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel said in a statement that it “stands firmly with President Trump in his commitment to bring home all the hostages and end the war.
President Trump’s demand to stop the war immediately is essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages. We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home.”
In the meantime, Yair Lapid, leader of the Israeli opposition Yesh Atid Party, has made it clear that Netanyahu will have political support within Israel for backing the deal, in the face of political threats from parties in the government coalition led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
