Israel strikes Gaza as Palestinians pin hopes on Trump Gaza plan

All News Extra
Smoke rises following explosions in Gaza City, as seen from central Gaza Strip October 5, 2025. (REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa)

Israel has pounded Gaza overnight despite Trump's call for end to bombing

Israeli planes and tanks pounded areas across the Gaza Strip overnight and this morning, destroying several residential buildings, witnesses said, as traumatised Palestinians hoped a U.S. plan to end the war would soon ease their suffering.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who had called for an end to the bombing, said yesterday 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."

Israel escalated its offensive as Egypt prepares to host delegates from Hamas, Israel and the United States, and Qatar, to kick off talks over the implementation of the most advanced effort yet to halt the conflict.

Demonstrators hold placards and flags in support of Palestinians during a national protest ahead of the two year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas from Gaza, in Dublin, Ireland, October 4 2025. (REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

Hamas had drawn a welcoming response from Trump on Friday by saying it accepted certain key parts of his 20-point peace 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, as well as questions unanswered, such as whether it would be willing to disarm, a key demand from Israel to end the war.

"Progress would depend on whether Hamas would agree to the map, which shows the Israeli army would remain in control of most of the Gaza Strip," said a Palestinian official, close to the talks.

"Hamas may also ask for a strict timetable for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The first phase of talks will determine how things are going to proceed," he told Reuters, asking not to be named.

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.

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 was 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.

Displaced Palestinians shelter in a tent camp in Mawasi area, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a U.S. plan to end the war, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Ramadan Abed)

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".

Trump has won backing from Arab and other Muslim states.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan issued a joint statement welcoming the steps taken by Hamas regarding Trump's Gaza plan.

"The Foreign Ministers reiterated their joint commitment to support efforts towards the implementation of the proposal, to work for the immediate end of the war on Gaza, and achieve a comprehensive agreement," they said in the joint statement.

In Gaza City, which Israel describes as one of Hamas' last bastions, Israeli forces continued attacks and warned residents who left against returning, saying it was a "dangerous combat zone."

Today, witnesses said Israeli planes escalated attacks against targets across the city, Gaza's biggest urban centre.

This followed a tense night in which drones dropped grenades on the rooftops of residential buildings and troops blew up explosive-laden vehicles, demolishing dozens of houses in two Gaza City neighborhoods, Sabra and Sheikh Radwan.