The Japan Times - Hostage families urge Israel to complete Gaza truce deal ahead of swap

The scheduled exchange on Saturday comes after Trump declared that the United States would "take over Gaza" and move Palestinians out of the territory, sparking uproar across the Middle East and beyond.

Israel has since ordered its military to prepare for the "voluntary" relocation of Gazans, while Hamas has rejected Trump's plans as "absolutely unacceptable".

"An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home... Now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed -- until the very last one," the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement on Friday.

Since January 19, Israel and Hamas have completed four swaps as part of the first stage of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Palestinian militants, led by Hamas, have so far freed 18 hostages in exchange for around 600 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.

The fragile ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 33 hostages during the first 42-day phase of the agreement.

The fifth swap is scheduled for Saturday, but as of now, neither side has disclosed how many hostages Hamas will release or how many prisoners Israel will free in return.

Amid the uncertainty triggered by Trump's remarks, Yaela David, whose brother Evyatar is still being held in Gaza, urged "the negotiating team to act today to complete the final details of the deal and ensure the return of all hostages".

"This must happen under this deal, and if not, there will remain a huge black stain on the history of our state," she said.

Despite regional and international backlash -- and initial backtracking by members of his administration -- Trump has doubled down on his statement.

"The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting," he said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.

"No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!"

- 'Intent to occupy' -

After Trump first floated the idea, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that he had ordered the military to prepare a plan to allow the "voluntary departure" of Gazans from the territory "to any country willing to accept them".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also voiced support for Trump's plan, announced at a joint press conference between the two leaders, calling it "the first original idea to be raised in years".

Hamas, however, condemned the remarks as "absolutely unacceptable".

"Trump's remarks about Washington taking control of Gaza amount to an open declaration of intent to occupy the territory," spokesman Hazem Qassem said.

"Gaza is for its people and they will not leave."

Negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.

The second stage aims to secure the release of more hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war, which began on October 7, 2023 with Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel.

During the attack, militants took 251 hostages to Gaza. Seventy-six remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.

T.Kobayashi--JT