GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Oct 4, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Israel said 
Saturday its troops were still operating in Gaza and warned residents not to 
return, despite calls from the families of Israeli hostages and US President 
Donald Trump for an immediate halt to the fighting.

Trump issued the appeal to the key US ally after Palestinian militant group 
Hamas said it was ready to release all hostages and start talks on the 
details of his plan to end the nearly two-year war.

"The movement announces its approval for the release of all hostages -- 
living and remains -- according to the exchange formula included in President 
Trump's proposal," Hamas said in a Friday statement.

Trump later posted on Truth Social: "Based on the Statement just issued by 
Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE. Israel must immediately 
stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and 
quickly!"

A senior Hamas official said Saturday the group was "ready to begin 
negotiations immediately to finalise all issues".

Another Hamas official said Egypt, a mediator in the truce talks, would host 
a conference for Palestinian factions to decide on Gaza's post-war future.

Trump's proposal calls for a halt to hostilities, the release of hostages 
within 72 hours, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas's 
disarmament.

It also stipulates that Hamas and other factions "not have any role in the 
governance of Gaza", with administration of the territory instead taken up by 
a technocratic body overseen by a post-war transitional authority headed by 
Trump himself.

"President Trump's demand to stop the war immediately is essential to prevent 
serious and irreversible harm to the hostages," the Hostages and Missing 
Families Forum said in a statement.

"We call on Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu to immediately begin 
efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home."

- Heavy bombardment -

But despite Trump's appeal, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israel carried 
out dozens of attacks on Gaza City overnight, with nearby hospitals reporting 
casualties.

"It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out 
dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in 
the Strip, despite President Trump's call to halt the bombing," spokesman 
Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force which operates under Hamas authority, 
said 20 homes were destroyed overnight.

The Israeli military said it was operating in Gaza City and urged residents 
not to return.

"The IDF (Israeli military) troops are still operating in Gaza City, and 
returning to it is extremely dangerous. For your safety, avoid returning 
north or approaching areas of IDF troop activity anywhere -- including in the 
southern Gaza Strip," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel 
Avichay Adraee, said on X.

Israeli media reported that the military had shifted to a defensive posture 
in Gaza following Trump's call, though the military did not confirm this to 
AFP.

Gaza City's Baptist Hospital said it received casualties from a strike on a 
home in the city's Tuffah neighbourhood, including four dead and several 
wounded.

Further south, Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said two children were killed 
and eight people wounded in a drone strike on a tent in a camp for displaced 
Gazans.

Jamila al-Sayyid, 24, a resident of Gaza City's Al-Zeitoun neighbourhood, 
said "the bombing was intense throughout the night. I was happy when Trump 
announced a ceasefire, but the warplanes did not stop."

- Hopeful reactions -

An AFP journalist in coastal area of Al-Mawasi reported hearing celebratory 
cries of "Allahu akbar!" (God is the greatest) rise from tents housing 
Palestinians as news of Hamas's statement spread.

"This is a day of joy, a great day. The war has been raging for two years," 
said Sami Adas, 50, who lives in a tent in Gaza City with his family.

"The best thing is that President Trump himself announced a ceasefire, and 
Netanyahu will not be able to escape this time... he is the only one who can 
force Israel to comply and stop the war."

The latest developments drew hopeful reactions from world leaders and 
organisations, with UN rights chief Volker Turk saying it was was a "vital 
opportunity" to stop bloodshed and misery in the Palestinian territory "once 
and for all".

The war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which 
resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP 
tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 67,074 Palestinians, 
according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the 
United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but 
indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.