Hamas has identified three more Israeli hostages it plans to free on Saturday as part of a fragile ceasefire agreement, even as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to talk up his plan to take ownership of the Gaza Strip.
The three men, captured by Hamas during its attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, will be part of the fifth exchange since a ceasefire between Isreal and Hamas took effect last month. For its part, Isreal is set to release 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday.
The three Israelis are Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56; and Or Levy, 34. Ami and Sharabi were both taken hostage from Kibbutz Beeri, a communal farm, while Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival.
During the first phase of the ceasefire, set to last six weeks, Hamas is to gradually free 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. So far, 13 Israeli hostages and five Thai workers abducted during the Hamas attack have been freed.
Details of the planned exchange Saturday came as Trump said his plan for the United States to take ownership of the Gaza Strip should be viewed as a real estate transaction but offered no timetable for the plan, saying "we’re in no rush on it."
The president made the comments Friday as he and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with reporters at the White House before the two leaders held talks.
Responding to a question about his Gaza proposal, Trump said his plan has been "very well received," and as he envisioned it, there would be no need for the United States to have "boots on the ground" in the region because Israel would provide security.
Trump first announced his Gaza takeover plan earlier this week alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a White House news conference. Trump later offered more on the plan on his Truth Social platform, suggesting Israel should turn the Gaza Strip over to the United States after the war with Hamas ends.
Under his plan, he said, the more than 2 million Palestinians who live there "would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities."
In a video statement Thursday, during his visit to Washington, Netanyahu praised the plan, saying it was worth listening to and "the first original idea to be raised in years."
The plan has been widely assailed by U.S. allies and adversaries alike, many of whom remain committed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, known as the "two-state solution."
A large street protest was held in Amman, Jordan, on Friday in opposition to plan. At the demonstration, organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition parties, marchers carried posters and a banner condemning Trump and chanting pro- Palestinian slogans.
On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called Trump’s idea a "bold plan," and said he has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to devise a plan for Palestinians to voluntarily leave the Gaza Strip, adding they could go "to any country willing to accept them."
Meanwhile, the IDF announced Friday it has deployed forces from three divisions of its Southern Command to several points in the Gaza Strip to "strengthen the layer of defense for Israeli citizens bordering the area."
In statement on its website, the IDF said the deployments were "part of the ceasefire agreement" and added its forces "are prepared for defense and will continue to act decisively against terrorist organizations, in order to ensure the security of the residents of the State of Israel." It was unclear if the forces were related to the defense minister’s orders.
Netanyahu wrapped his Washington visit Friday with a trip to Capitol Hill where he met with House Speaker Mike Johnson. During remarks following their meeting, Netanyahu thanked Trump for the executive order he issued placing sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
Netanyahu called the ICC a "scandalous and corrupt organization" that "threatens the right of all democracies to defend themselves by themselves."
In the executive order, issued Thursday, Trump claimed the court "has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."
The order also accused the ICC of abusing its power by issuing arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defense minister who oversaw much of the war in Gaza.
In a statement Friday, the ICC condemned the executive order. In a separate statement, Judge Tomoko Akane, president of the court, said the order was "only the latest in a series of unprecedented and escalatory attacks aiming to undermine the ICC’s ability to administer justice in all situations."
The ICC was established in 2002 to serve as a permanent court to prosecute those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The court is governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute, which was adopted by the U.N. in 1998. It took effect on July 1, 2002.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
