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USA Flag in San Diego. [Mario Tama/Getty Images]
US troops began arriving in Israel on Saturday to take part in a joint task force to monitor the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, according to media reports, Anadolu reports.
Citing two US officials, ABC News reported that 200 troops will arrive in Israel “to set up a coordination center that will oversee implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza” and operate in different fields, including transportation, planning, logistics, security, and engineering.
US troops will not enter the Gaza Strip; they will carry out their activities in Israel under the command of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Adm. Bradley Cooper, alongside different units and contingents sent from countries in the region, according to the report.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives being held there in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.
A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a security force comprising Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.
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Hundreds of Palestinians continued returning from the south to the north, carrying their belongings along Rashid Street that connects the two parts of the enclave on the second day of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on October 11, 2025. [Stringer – Anadolu Agency]
Tens of thousands of Palestinians set off toward areas vacated by Israeli forces after a ceasefire took effect on Friday, according to an Anadolu correspondent, Anadolu reports.
Thousands of displaced civilians departed from southern Gaza to their homes northward, the majority on foot. Some made the hours-long journey using the few vehicles still running amid fuel shortages, along with animal-drawn carts, bicycles, and motorcycles.
Simultaneously, thousands returned to their homes in the central Gaza Strip and some eastern parts of Khan Younis in the south, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The transfers from the south to the north were carried out via the coastal Al-Rashid Street in the west and Salah al-Din Road in the east.
Hundreds of displaced civilians had to set up tents on the rubble of their homes upon returning.
A gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces toward the yellow line was completed on Friday in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s plan.
The army forces withdrew from Gaza City in the north, excluding the Shejaiya neighborhood and some parts of the Al-Tuffah and Zeitoun neighborhoods; and the central and eastern parts of Khan Younis in the south. Palestinians were prevented from entering Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
The Gaza Government Media Office said on Saturday that more than 5,000 missions, including humanitarian, health, rescue, and relief operations, were carried out in the past 24 hours across Gaza governorates.
Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives being held there in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.
The first phase of the deal came into force at 12 noon local time Friday (0900 GMT).
A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a security force comprising Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.
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Thousands gather for a march ahead of the second anniversary of the war in Gaza, on October 5, 2025, in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu via Getty Images)
US Rep. Ro Khanna demanded that Israel release American flotilla member David Adler, whose family has not heard from him since October 1.
US Congressman Ro Khanna on Sunday demanded the Israeli government’s release of David Adler, a US citizen who was one of the organizers intercepted by Israeli forces last week after they came close to breaking the country’s blockade on Gaza with the Global Sumud Flotilla.
As Marco Sermoneta, Israel’s consul general to the Pacific Northwest in the US, dismissed reports that humanitarians who were aboard the flotilla’s 50 boats are being deprived of food and water and mistreated in an Israeli detention center, Khanna (D-Calif.) called on the diplomat to confirm that Adler, a California resident, is a safe.
“I am most concerned about David Adler, a Californian and Jewish American, who is in the Ketziot prison,” said Khanna. “I spoke to his sister last night and their family is deeply anxious. Can you assure us he will be released and sent home safely?”
Khanna said Saturday that Adler’s family has not had contact with him since October 1, the day before a majority of the flotilla’s boats were stopped from reaching Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
The congressman said he plans to lead a delegation letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Leiter on Monday and expressed hope that “every colleague, particularly every California member, will sign.”
“Our government must stand up for an American citizen’s fair treatment and release,” said Khanna.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Saturday that 137 of the rights advocates who were aboard the flotilla had been deported to Turkey; they were from the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States.
More than 400 humanitarians, lawmakers, and lawyers were aboard the vessels, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who told Swedish officials Saturday that she has been “subjected to harsh treatment in Israeli custody” in recent days.
The Guardian obtained correspondence from Sweden’s Foreign Ministry that described Israeli authorities taking photos of the climate campaigner “holding flags,” the identity of which was not reported.
“The embassy has been able to meet with Greta,” reads an email sent by the Foreign Ministry to people close to Thunberg and viewed by The Guardian. “She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed rashes which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
Turkish activist Ersin Çelik, who also participated in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu that Israeli authorities “dragged little Greta by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others.”
Another humanitarian told reporters that the Sumud flotilla campaigners had been “woken up at 3 in the morning with dogs and snipers walking into our rooms” and prevented from having medicine.
JUST IN: A Turkish activist from the Sumud Flotilla speaks out:
Israelis prevented us from having medicine, they only gave us water after 32 hours. We barely had any food.
We were woken up at 3 in the morning with dogs and snipers walking into our rooms, they woke us up every… pic.twitter.com/fDF8jI2gVh
“If Netanyahu’s government is treating Greta Thunberg this way, imagine how they are treating women and children in Gaza,” said Khanna on Sunday.
Talks on a peace plan between Israel and Hamas, proposed last week by US President Donald Trump, are scheduled to begin Monday in Egypt. Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining hostages the group has been holding captive in Gaza since October 7, 2023 in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians detained by Israel.
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people across Europe marched in solidarity with the flotilla members and with Gaza, where more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel—with the backing of the US and a number of European governments—since October 2023.
Organizers in Rome said 1 million people turned out for the demonstration that was planned after Israel’s interception of the flotilla; police said 250,000 people marched. Spanish campaigners said hundreds of thousands of people rallied in every major city in the country, while smaller protests were reported in cities including Paris, Lisbon, Athens, and London.
Families attended a rally in Barcelona—whose former mayor, Ada Colau, was among the participants in the flotilla—and held signs with messages including, “Stop the Genocide,” and “Hands off the flotilla.”
Hundreds of thousands turn out at pro-Palestine marches across Europe, demanding immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of flotilla activists trying to get aid to enclave.
On Sunday, protests in support of the flotilla and Gaza continued in countries including South Africa and Amsterdam.
Aaron Bastani of Novara Mediasaid it was likely not “a coincidence that David Adler remains in prison, has not been in contact with his family, and has reputedly suffered significant ill treatment.”
“The biggest problem for [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the Israeli right, long term,” said Bastani, “is anti-Zionist Jewish Americans.”
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAOrcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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Relatives of the deceased mourned their loss during the funeral ceremony at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital as at least seven Palestinians are killed and several others injured in an Israeli attack on the al-Maghazi refugee camp, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on October 4, 2025. [Abdalhkem Abu Riash – Anadolu Agency]
The Israeli army killed at least five Palestinians, including a young girl, and injured others in ongoing attacks across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, ignoring US President Donald Trump’s call for an immediate halt to the bombardment, Anadolu reports.
Trump had urged Israel to “stop bombing Gaza immediately” after Hamas announced its willingness to release Israeli captives according to his proposal, stating he believed the movement was “ready for lasting peace.”
Medical sources and eyewitnesses told Anadolu that despite the call, Israeli forces struck two homes in Gaza City and in the central Nuseirat refugee camp, leaving at least five dead and several others injured.
Israeli air and artillery strikes also continued across Gaza City and Khan Younis in the south, with intensified demolition operations using drones and explosives targeting residential buildings in multiple areas of Gaza throughout the night.
Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed nearly 66,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAGenocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
Hamas said it had approved parts of Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, including a hostage exchange. Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP
Palestinian militant group accepts part of US president’s plan but seeks further negotiations on many terms
Donald Trump ordered Israel to “immediately” stop bombing Gaza as he welcomed Hamas’s partial acceptance of his ultimatum to end the nearly two-year war.
Hamas has agreed to release all hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, as well as surrender governing power in the Gaza Strip, in accordance with Trump’s plan.
In a statement on Friday evening, the Palestinian militant group asked for further negotiations on other parts of the plan, and did not say whether it would lay down its arms – a key part of Trump’s proposal unveiled on Monday.
Despite the qualified response by Hamas, Trump said in a post 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! Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that.
“We are already in discussions on details to be worked out. This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East.”
In a brief video message posted separately Trump said it was a “very special day” and added that “Everybody will be treated fairly.”
