Israel prepares prisoner list and withdrawal maps ahead of implementing Trump’s plan

Israel has begun taking practical steps to pave the way for the start of negotiations on a first-phase ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war that has been ongoing for nearly two years.

Hebrew Channel 12 said on Saturday morning that the Israeli negotiating team received official instructions to prepare to send a delegation to the talks, without specifying a date or location for their start yet, noting that the previous negotiating mechanism will be modified and a new formula devised more suitable to the nature of the coming phase.

According to the channel, U.S. parties will participate directly in the upcoming negotiations, reflecting the close level of coordination between Tel Aviv and Washington in implementing Trump’s plan.

Reports said a joint team from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the Israeli military, and the Mossad is currently working to prepare a list of Palestinian prisoners who could be released as part of a prisoner exchange with Hamas, within the first phase of the agreement.

The U.S. initiative calls for the release of around 250 prisoners serving long and life sentences, which would leave only a few dozen of them in Israeli prisons after the deal is implemented.

At the same time, the channel said Israeli engineering and security teams have begun preparing detailed withdrawal maps from areas inside the Gaza Strip, based on the technical provisions of Trump’s plan, ahead of presenting them during the expected negotiation rounds.

This development comes hours after the Israeli military announced it had halted its offensive operations in Gaza and would limit itself to defensive tasks, preparing to implement the U.S. plan and begin a new political phase aimed at consolidating the truce and preparing the ground for reconstruction.