Netanyahu says Israel working on ceasefire plan on eve of Trump meeting.
Gaza death toll tops 66,000
[September 29, 2025]
By SAMY MAGDY, MELANIE LIDMAN and GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — On the eve of meeting with U.S. President Donald
Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel
is working on a new ceasefire plan with the White House, but details are
still being sorted out.
Netanyahu has come under heavy international pressure to end the war,
especially during the ongoing offensive in Gaza City. The death toll in
the Israel-Hamas war has topped 66,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health
Ministry said Sunday.
In Monday’s White House meeting, Trump is expected to share a new
proposal for ending the conflict.
“We’re working on it,” Netanyahu told Fox News Sunday’s “The Sunday
Briefing.” “It’s not been finalized yet, but we’re working with
President Trump’s team, actually as we speak, and I hope we can -- we
can make it a go.”
Arab officials briefed on the plan say the 21-point proposal calls for
an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages held by Hamas within
48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The
officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal has not
been formally announced.
Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas, whose Oct. 7,
2023, attack triggered the war, is destroyed. But he repeated an offer
to allow Hamas operatives to leave Gaza as part of a deal ending the
conflict.
“If they finish the war, release all the hostages, we let them out,” he
said.
Growing international pressure on Israel
Trump has so far stood behind Israel. But the U.S. leader has shown
signs of impatience lately, particularly after Israel struck the
headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Doha, Qatar, earlier this
month. Ceasefire talks have stalled since, despite growing international
and domestic protests.
Key Western allies have joined a list of countries recognizing a
Palestinian state over Israeli objections. The European Union is
considering sanctions and there are growing moves for a sports and
cultural boycott against Israel.
A defiant Netanyahu told fellow world leaders Friday at the U.N. General
Assembly that his nation “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza,
where 48 hostages are still held captive, around 20 of them believed by
Israel to be alive.
Trump’s 21-point ceasefire plan
Trump's ceasefire proposal would include the release of all hostages
within 48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the
Palestinian enclave, according to three Arab officials briefed on the
plan. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the
ongoing talks, said the proposal is not final and changes are highly
likely.
Trump discussed the proposal with Arab leaders in New York on the
sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
A Hamas official said the group was briefed on the plan but has yet to
receive an official offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Hamas has
said it is ready to “study any proposals positively and responsibly.”
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Delegates leave as Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives
to address the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly,
Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The official said the group had previously said it was willing to
release all hostages in return for an end to the war and a complete
withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip.
Nonstop explosions reported in Gaza
Local hospitals in central Gaza said at least 10 people were killed when
at least two strikes hit homes in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said in its daily report the death toll has
climbed to 66,005, with a further 168,162 wounded since the war started.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run administration, does not
differentiate between civilians and militants in its toll, but has said
women and children make up around half the dead. Its figures are seen as
a reliable estimate by the U.N. and many independent experts.
Residents reported hearing sounds of explosions overnight across the
city, likely coming from the demolition of buildings through the
detonation of explosive-laden vehicles and robots. “They were nonstop,”
Sayed Baker, a Palestinian who shelters close to a Shifa hospital, said
of the explosions.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but
said it struck 140 Hamas military targets over the past 24 hours,
including militants, observation equipment and infrastructure.
On Sunday, the military said it had struck a high-rise building in Gaza
City after warning residents to evacuate. The strike leveled the
16-story Macca tower. No casualties were reported.
The Israeli military said the building housed “military infrastructure
belonging to Hamas.” It is the latest in a series of demolitions in
recent weeks as Israel expands its offensive.
Israel’s offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displacing around
90% of the population amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with
experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.
On Sunday, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier died of wounds sustained in an
attack at a road junction near Nablus in the West Bank, and security
forces shot dead the alleged attacker, the army said. The attack was
praised by Hamas. Violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,
which alongside Gaza and east Jerusalem was captured by Israel in the
1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want for a future state.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Dell'Orto reported from Jerusalem.
Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv contributed to this
report.
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