Israel freezes Gaza City operation, prepares talks following Hamas response on ceasefire plan
Israel has halted all military offensive operations to capture Gaza City, shifting its forces to defensive operations only, Israeli leading media outlets reported Saturday morning.
Israel's move followed U.S. President Donald Trump's demand that Israel immediately stop bombing Gaza, after Hamas responded to the U.S. president's 20-point plan by saying it was ready in principle to release all 48 Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Israel is also reportedly planning to send a negotiating team to finalize the deal, which includes a truce in Gaza, the return of hostages, the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons, and international oversight on Gaza's reconstruction and governance after the end of the conflict.
Sanae Takaichi elected Japan's ruling party leader
Japan's former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi won Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election on Saturday, making her likely to become Japan's first female prime minister.
LDP parliamentarians cast 295 votes in the first round of voting, while another 295 votes were allotted to rank-and-file members. Takaichi, who took the lead with 183 votes in the first round, entered the runoff with Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who won 164 votes.
In the runoff voting, the LDP lawmakers cast the same number of votes, but the rank-and-file members' votes were reduced to one for each of the LDP's 47 prefectural chapters. Takaichi secured 185 votes in the round to win over Koizumi, who received 156 votes.
This marks Takaichi's third bid for the party leadership after previous defeats in 2021 and 2024. Her victory makes it the first time a woman has won the presidency of Japan's long-dominant ruling party.
Trump discloses Israel's halt of bombing in Gaza, urges Hamas to move quickly
Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in the Gaza Strip to give hostage release and the 20-point peace deal a chance to be completed, according to U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Saturday.
"Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off," he said in a Truth Social post. "I will not tolerate delay ... Let's get this done, FAST."
In a separate post on Saturday, the president said that after negotiations, Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which has been shown to Hamas.
"When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal," he added.
137 Gaza flotilla activists arrive in Istanbul after Israeli detention
A total of 137 activists, including 36 Turkish nationals who had been detained by Israel for taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, an aid mission bound for Gaza, were flown to Türkiye on Saturday.
The Turkish Airlines flight carrying the activists departed from Ramon Airport in Israel's southern city of Eilat and landed at Istanbul Airport at 3:50 p.m. local time (1250 GMT), where they were received by officials and a large crowd.
According to the state-run TRT broadcaster, the activists will undergo health checks and will also be taken to the Istanbul Police Department to give statements as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into the detention of Turkish citizens in international waters following Israel's interception of the flotilla.
Death toll in Gaza Strip exceeds 67,000
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has surpassed 67,000, Gaza's health authorities said on Saturday.
According to their statement, a total of 67,074 people have been killed and 169,430 wounded since the outbreak of the war. In a separate statement, the authorities reported that two children had died in the past 24 hours from starvation and malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths linked to food shortages to 459, including 154 children.
Despite Israeli statements suggesting a reduction in military operations following U.S. President Donald Trump's call for a halt to the bombing and Hamas's agreement to release all hostages, the Israeli air force carried out a series of intensive airstrikes on Gaza City on Saturday morning.■
