By Jasper Ward, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Alexander Cornwell
WASHINGTON/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that war in Gaza has not yet ended despite Israel and Hamas both agreeing to parts of President Donald Trump’s plan for the strip, as Gazans called for its quick implementation to end their suffering.
“We will know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the logistics,” Rubio told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” about the release of hostages from Gaza.
Hamas had drawn a welcoming response from Trump on Friday by saying it accepted certain key parts of his 20-point proposal, including ending the war, Israel’s withdrawal, and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives.
But the group left some issues up for further negotiation at talks in Egypt, as well as questions unanswered, such as whether it would be willing to disarm, a key demand from Israel to end the war.
Israeli negotiators will leave for Egypt tonight and negotiations on the release of the hostages are expected to begin on Monday, the day before the war’s second anniversary, said an Israeli government spokesperson.
A Hamas delegation, led by the group’s exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, was also expected to land in Cairo later on Sunday, to join representatives of the United States and Qatar for talks over the implementation of the most advanced effort yet to halt the conflict.
HOPES FOR PEACE BUT STRIKES CONTINUE
The plan has stirred hopes for peace among Palestinians but there was no let up of Israeli attacks on Gaza on Sunday as planes and tanks pounded areas across the enclave, killing at least 16 people, local health authorities said.
Four of those killed were seeking aid in the south of the strip and five were killed in an airstrike in Gaza City in the early afternoon, they said.
Shadi Mansour stood in the destruction left by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza City suburb of Tuffah on Saturday, which killed his son Ameer, 6, and 16 other people.
“Is he a member of the resistance? Is he a fighter? All the targets of the Israeli army are children,” said Mansour.
Israeli forces warned residents who have left the city against returning, saying it was a “dangerous combat zone.”
Trump, who had called for an end to the bombing, said on Saturday on his Truth Social platform that Israel had agreed to an “initial withdrawal line” inside Gaza and that “when Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective.”
Ahmed Assad, a displaced Palestinian man in central Gaza, said he had been hopeful when news broke of Trump’s plan but said nothing had changed.
“Unfortunately, there is no translation for this on the ground. We do not see any change to the situation, on the contrary, we don’t know what action to take, what shall we do? Shall we remain in the streets? Shall we leave?” he asked.
SOME IN ISRAEL OPTIMISTIC FOR END TO WAR
In a sign of Israeli optimism over the Trump plan, the shekel currency hit a three-year high against the dollar and Tel Aviv stocks reached an all-time high.
Some people in Tel Aviv shared that sentiment.
“It’s the first time in months that I’m actually hopeful. Trump has really instilled a lot of hope into us, and we believe in him and his leadership,” said resident Gil Shelly.
Domestically, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is caught between growing pressure to end the war — from hostage families and a war-weary public — and demands from hardline members of his coalition who insist there must be no let-up in Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on X that halting attacks on Gaza would be a “grave mistake.”
Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, also a hardliner, have significant influence in Netanyahu’s government and have threatened to bring it down if the Gaza war ends.
But opposition leader Yair Lapid of the centrist Yesh Atid party has said political cover will be provided so the Trump initiative can succeed and “we won’t let them torpedo the deal”.
RETURN OF HOSTAGES
Under Trump’s plan, all Israeli hostages, alive and deceased, would be released. Israel says 48 hostages remain, 20 of whom are alive.
Trump said on Friday he believed Hamas had shown it was “ready for a lasting PEACE” and he called on Netanyahu’s government to halt airstrikes in Gaza.
Israel began attacking Gaza after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s campaign, which has killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities, has led to its international isolation.
Aside from assassinating Hamas’ top leaders since the war started, Israel has also decimated other regional allies of Iran such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and killed top Iranian military commanders.
Hezbollah said on Sunday that it supported Hamas’ stance, in coordination with Palestinian factions, with regard to Trump’s Gaza plan.
(Additional reporting by Jaidaa Taha in Cairo, Mahmoud Issa in Gaza and Miro Maman in Tel Aviv; Writing by Michael Georgy;Editing by William Maclean, Louise Heavens and Ros Russell)
