Trump's plan for Gaza has moved into an operational phase. At 4:22 am on Saturday, October 4, after a special meeting of Israel's highest-ranking military officers, Eyal Zamir, the spokesperson for the chief of the General Staff, announced on Telegram that orders had been given – in line with government instructions – to gear up "for the implementation of the first stage of Trump’s plans to free the hostages." "The safety of IDF [Israeli army] troops is a top priority," the army added, emphasizing that "all IDF capabilities will be allocated to the Southern Command [the region around Gaza] to ensure the protection of the troops."

The Israeli army has now effectively shifted from an offensive to a defensive posture – a stance explicitly called for by Donald Trump on Friday evening, after Hamas announced it was ready to release the 48 remaining hostages and enter negotiations via Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators. "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," declared the US president. In June, Trump had similarly ordered Israel to implement a ceasefire with Iran, even as warplanes were taking off to strike Tehran again. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office later announced that the military was "preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of the Trump plan for the release of all the hostages."

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