Overview

• Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the war could end immediately if Hamas freed all remaining hostages and laid down its weapons.
• Hamas official Basem Naim said the group would release all captives only if Israel ended the war and withdrew its forces, rejecting disarmament.
• Israeli strikes hit Gaza City over the weekend, with local officials reporting 14 deaths overnight and damage including a school and two high-rise buildings sheltering displaced people; the military said it targeted a militant and issued warnings.
• Kan 11, as cited by Matzav, reported that in May 2024 IDF chief Herzi Halevi proposed a one-phase plan to free all hostages that Netanyahu dismissed, and a subsequently approved phased plan never advanced to its second stage.
• Israel maintains that any agreement must secure the immediate release of all hostages and the demilitarization of Gaza under Israeli security terms.