IDF names fallen soldier, Netanyahu: 'We will not surrender to Hamas'

Prime Minister's spokesman, Omer Dostri, said regarding the ongoing hostage deal efforts: "It is impossible to bring everyone back in one deal—this is spin", on Saturday evening in an interview with Channel 12.

Dostri emphasized that "there is no one who does not want to return our hostages. We are doing everything possible to bring them home, and once we succeed in bringing them all back, we will destroy Hamas."

He added that "Hamas is demanding a cessation of fighting, which makes a comprehensive deal impossible."

CWO G'haleb Sliman Alnasasra was killed in battle while fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Saturday.

CWO Alnasasra, 35, from Rahat, served in the Northern Brigade in the Gaza Division. 

During the incident in which  CWO Alnasasra fell, a tracker in the Northern Brigade, Gaza Division, was severely injured. In addition, two soldiers in the 414th Battalion, Border Protection Corps, were severely injured during combat in the northern Gaza Strip.

The soldiers were evacuated to receive medical treatment at a hospital, and their families have been notified.

An Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held a second round of negotiations with the United States in Rome, following an initial meeting in Oman, which is mediating the discussions. The US was represented by President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. According to Iran's state media outlet IRNA, the Foreign Ministry described the talks as “useful” and held in a “constructive atmosphere.”

Oman’s foreign minister, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, also plays a key role in the talks. Both sides agreed to meet again next week to continue the talks, IRNA stated.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei shared an update about the talks on social media, signaling renewed optimism from Tehran following a shift in tone last week, when earlier hope gave way to some frustration as officials tried to temper expectations. The atmosphere at the foreign ministry remains unpredictable. According to reports, the negotiations are expected to proceed to a more “technical level” next.

In a gathering outside the Tel Aviv Municipality, hostage families made public appeals on Saturday for a negotiated agreement to secure the return of their loved ones, who are still held hostage by Hamas.

The statements, delivered in front of cameras and supporters, reflected growing anguish over the government’s handling of the hostage crisis and mounting fears for the captives’ survival.

Omri Lifshitz, son of the late Oded Lifshitz, who was kidnapped and later died in Hamas captivity, spoke of his father’s suffering and the painful void left behind. “My father was left to die in physical agony and died from lack of medical treatment,” he said.

The terror group Hamas has released an additional video showing signs of life from Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot, who remains captive in Gaza.

This is a developing story.

Hamas's armed wing said on Saturday the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after the group found the guard who was holding the hostage killed.

This was after Hamas said on Tuesday it had lost contact with a group of terrorists holding Alexander in Gaza.

The same day that Hamas claimed to lose contact with the terrorist holding Alexander, the terror group reportedly rejected the Israeli proposal for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza, according to the BBC.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi claimed on Saturday during talks with the US that Israel was the main roadblock to achieving a non-nuclear Middle East, according to Israeli media reports. 

"Iran rejects weapons of mass destruction. The only obstacle to achieving a Middle East free of nuclear weapons is Israel," Aragchi said.

Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US was, for now, unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.

Israeli officials have vowed to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and Netanyahu has insisted that any negotiation with Iran must lead to the complete dismantling of its nuclear program.

US and Iranian negotiators are set for a second round of preliminary nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday.

Iran and the United States will hold a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran's atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump's threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will negotiate indirectly through mediators from Oman, a week after a first round in Muscat that both sides described as constructive.

Tehran has sought to tamp down expectations of a quick deal, after some Iranian officials speculated that sanctions could be lifted soon. Iran's utmost authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said this week he was "neither overly optimistic nor pessimistic."