Morning Briefing: Oct. 5, 2025

By Mevlut Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Sunday, including Hamas saying Israel killed 70 Palestinians despite Israeli claims of reduced military operations in Gaza; Egypt confirming it will host a new round of indirect Hamas-Israel prisoner swap talks under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan; and Trump announcing that a ceasefire will be immediately effective once Hamas confirms.

TOP STORIES

• Hamas says Israel killed 70 Palestinians despite claims of reduced military operations in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes and shelling killed 70 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including women and children, despite Israeli claims of scaling back military operations against civilians, according to Hamas.

"This ongoing bloody escalation exposes the lies of the claims of the war criminal Netanyahu's government regarding reducing military operations against defenseless civilians," the Palestinian resistance group said in a statement.

It urged the international community, Arab and Islamic countries, to assume their legal and humanitarian "responsibilities" by protecting Palestinians, providing relief and intensifying pressure to end the two-year "war of extermination" and starvation in Gaza.

A statement from the Gaza Media Office said the Israeli army carried out 93 airstrikes, killing 70 people, including 47 in Gaza City.

• Egypt confirms hosting new round of indirect Hamas-Israel prisoner swap talks

Egypt confirmed that it will host a new round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on Sunday to discuss details of a prisoner exchange under US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the talks are part of “ongoing Egyptian efforts, in coordination with mediators, to end the Israeli war in Gaza.”

It added that indirect consultations will address “the field conditions and details of the exchange process for all Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners, in line with President Trump’s proposal, in the hope of putting an end to the war and the suffering of the Palestinian people, which has continued for two years.”

The ministry noted that talks will be held “within the framework of efforts to build on the regional and international momentum created by President Trump’s plan to stop the war in Gaza.”

• When Hamas confirms, Gaza ceasefire to be 'immediately' effective: Trump

US President Donald Trump said Israel agreed to an initial withdrawal line in the Gaza Strip, a key step toward a ceasefire and the beginning of a long-awaited hostage and prisoner exchange with Hamas.

"After negotiations, Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown to, and shared with, Hamas.

"When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be immediately effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal, which will bring us close to the end of this 3,000 year catastrophe," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Earlier, Trump urged Hamas to act swiftly in hostage release and peace negotiations in Gaza.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's deployment of National Guard troops to the city of Portland in the state of Oregon, according to media reports.
• Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) leadership race concluded with former Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi winning the first round and a run-off.
• A Turkish activist who was aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla said Israeli forces subjected Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, also a mission participant, to severe torture after vessels were seized in international waters.
• Pakistan's military expressed concerns about Indian leadership's "provocative" statements, warning that the next conflict between the nuclear rivals could lead to "cataclysmic devastation."
• Populist billionaire Andrej Babis' ANO Party secured victory in the Czech parliamentary elections, winning nearly 35.5% of the vote as nearly 94% of ballots were counted, public broadcaster Ceska televize reported.
• At least 30 people were injured in an alleged Russian strike targeting a railway station and passenger trains in the city of Shostka in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, Ukrainian officials said.
• Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said the question of restoring the death penalty for the rapes and murders of women and children will be decided by a nationwide referendum.
• Several French and Belgian participants of a Gaza-bound flotilla who were forcibly taken by Israeli authorities have begun a hunger strike to protest their detention and the situation in Gaza.
• The Somali Defense Ministry said the National Army has captured the strategic town of Awdhegle in the Lower Shabelle region from the al-Shabaab terror group.
• US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Egypt on Saturday to discuss Israeli hostages and a Gaza ceasefire, according to Axios journalist Barak Ravid.
• Bestselling author Stephen King was the most-banned writer in US schools during the 2024-25 academic year, according to a report by PEN America.
• China raised its flood emergency response to the lowest level in four provincial-level regions ahead of heavy rains brought on by Typhoon Matmo.
• At least 67,074 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
• Russia and Ukraine reported large-scale overnight drone and missile attacks targeting multiple regions, with both sides claiming significant interceptions and damage.