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Palestinian resistance movement Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza Monday under a ceasefire deal and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as US President Donald Trump told Israel's parliament that peace had arrived in the Middle East. The Israeli military said it had received all 20 hostages confirmed to be alive, after their transfer from Gaza by the Red Cross. The announcement prompted cheering, hugging and weeping among thousands waiting at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv. In Gaza, thousands of relatives, many weeping with joy, gathered at a hospital where buses brought home some of the nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be freed by Israel as part of the accord. "The skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace," Trump told the Knesset, Israel's parliament, saying a "long nightmare" for both Israelis and Palestinians was over. He later left for a summit in Egypt intended to cement the truce. The US, along with Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, mediated what has been described as a first phase agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas and prisoners and detainees by Israel. Trump arrived in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh about an hour before sundown for the gathering of more than 20 world leaders, which he was to chair alongside President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. At the opening of the summit, Trump signed a document on the ceasefire deal with Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye. The ceasefire and partial Israeli withdrawal agreed last week halted one of Israel's biggest offensives of the war, an all-out assault on Gaza City that was killing scores of people per day. Since then, huge numbers of Palestinians have been able to return to the ruins of homes in the Gaza Strip, swathes of which were reduced to a wasteland by Israeli bombardment that killed 68,000 people. Among the immediate issues still to be resolved: recovering the remains of another 26 Israeli hostages believed to have died and two whose fates are unknown. Hamas says recovering the bodies could take time as not all burial sites are known. It handed over four bodies Monday. Aid supplies must be rushed into the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people face famine. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher underlined the need to "get shelter and fuel to people who desperately need it and to massively scale up the food and medicine and other supplies going in". Beyond that, crucial issues have yet to be resolved, including how to govern and police Gaza, and the ultimate future of Hamas, which still rejects Israel's demands to disarm. Video footage captured emotional scenes of Israeli families receiving phone messages from their loved ones as they were being released, their faces lighting up with disbelief and hope after months of anguish. Palestinians meanwhile rushed to embrace prisoners freed by Israel. Several thousand gathered inside and around Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, some waving Palestinian flags, others holding photos of their relatives. "I am happy for our sons who are being freed, but we are still in pain for all those who have been killed by the occupation, and all the destruction that happened to our Gaza," a Gaza woman, Um Ahmed, told Reuters in a tearful voice message. Freed prisoners arrived in buses, some of them posing from the windows, flashing V-for-Victory signs. Israel was due to release 1,700 detainees it captured in Gaza, as well as 250 prisoners from its jails convicted or suspected of security offences. Samer Halabeya, a doctor freed from jail where he was serving a sentence for planning an attack that wounded an Israeli officer, stood by his weeping mother in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. "We hope that everyone gets freed," he said.

The bodies of four Israeli hostages who died in captivity in Gaza were handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas on Monday."The Red Cross has received two coffins of deceased hostages and are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip, where the two additional coffins of deceased hostages, that were received earlier, are located," the military said.Earlier on Monday, Hamas freed all 20 surviving hostages it had been holding since October 7, 2023, as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump.In return, Israel released 1,968 prisoners and detainees, mostly Palestinians, the prison service said.Hamas still holds the remains of 24 deceased hostages, which it has agreed to return to Israel as part of the ceasefire deal."Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages," the military said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has received the second group of 13 Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip, as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. The ICRC earlier received the first group of seven Israeli captives and handed them over to the Israeli authorities. Under the exchange deal, the Israeli occupation authorities are expected later today to release 250 Palestinian detainees serving long and life sentences, in addition to 1,700 others arrested by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip after October 7, 2023. Hamas will also hand over the bodies of several dead Israeli captives in two phases. The Prisoners' Information Office published a list of Palestinian detainees scheduled for release today under the exchange deal, including those arrested in Gaza after October 7 and others serving long and life sentences. According to Palestinian institutions concerned with detainees' affairs, Israel currently holds more than 11,100 Palestinians in its prisons, the majority of whom are administrative detainees. This figure does not include those held in Israeli military camps. The number of detainees from the Gaza Strip has risen to over 4,000 since the start of the war. The captive-detainee exchange between Hamas and Israel forms part of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey. The accord, reached in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and effective since last Friday, constitutes the first phase of US President Donald Trump's peace plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

Israeli occupation forces on Monday released 83 Palestinian detainees serving life sentences from Ofer Prison, as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.Earlier today, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that it had received 20 Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip in two groups and handed them over to the Israeli authorities.Under the exchange deal, Israeli occupation authorities are set to release 250 Palestinian detainees serving long life sentences — 83 from Ofer Prison and 167 from Ketziot Prison — in addition to 1,718 others arrested by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip after October 7, 2023.According to Palestinian institutions concerned with detainees' affairs, Israel currently holds more than 11,100 Palestinians in its prisons, amid dire conditions including torture, starvation, and systematic medical neglect, which have led to several deaths in custody. This figure does not include those held in Israeli military camps. The number of detainees from the Gaza Strip has risen to over 4,000 since the start of the war.The number of detainees sentenced to life imprisonment has reached 350, with indictments filed paving the way for additional sentences. There are 53 female prisoners, including three from Gaza and two girls, as well as about 400 children held in Ofer and Megiddo prisons. The number of administrative detainees — held without trial — has reached around 3,380 as of October, the institutions reported. (QNA)

The exchange of Palestinian detainees and Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip began Monday morning as part of the initial phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) receiving seven Israeli captives. Meanwhile, Palestine Red Crescent Society crews entered Ofer Prison, west of Ramallah, to transfer a sick Palestinian detainee slated for release.The first phase of the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end the war in the Gaza Strip includes the release of all living Israeli captives held in Gaza — a total of 20 people — in two groups. In addition, 28 bodies will be handed over gradually, depending on the progress of recovery efforts under the rubble in the Gaza Strip.In exchange, Israeli occupation authorities will release 250 Palestinian detainees serving life sentences, along with 1,718 detainees from Gaza who were arrested after the war began on Oct. 7, 2023.Authorities have transferred detainees designated for release from five central prisons to Ofer Prison, west of Ramallah, and others to Ketziot Prison in the Negev, in preparation for their transfer to the Gaza Strip and subsequently to Egypt.The swap process is being conducted under the supervision of an Egyptian-Qatari-US joint committee, which monitors the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.On Oct. 9, US President Trump announced an agreement to implement the first phase of his Middle East peace plan, which he had outlined earlier on Sept. 29. The plan calls for ending the war in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces, the entry of humanitarian aid, and the exchange of captives and detainees.The ceasefire took effect last Friday, marking the start of the 72-hour deadline set by the agreement for completing the exchange process.According to organizations concerned with Palestinian detainees' affairs, the number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons exceeds 11,000, amid dire conditions including torture, starvation, and systematic medical neglect, which has led to several deaths in custody.The number of detainees sentenced to life imprisonment has reached 350, with indictments filed paving the way for additional sentences. There are 53 female prisoners, including three from Gaza and two girls, and about 400 child prisoners held in Ofer and Megiddo prisons. The number of administrative detainees — held without trial — has reached around 3,380 as of October, the institutions reported.

US President Donald Trump praised Qatar's mediation efforts to end the war in the Gaza Strip and stressed that the ceasefire will hold. In a press statement, the US President said that the war in the Gaza Strip has ended and that numerous guarantees have been provided to ensure the ceasefire holds. President Trump explained that Hamas may release some of its prisoners earlier than the date stipulated in the agreement between the movement and Israel. He pointed out that the new administration in the Gaza Strip would begin its work very quickly. He also expressed his desire to visit the Strip. The US President will co-chair the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit in Egypt. The summit aims to end the war in the Gaza Strip and advance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump headed on a high high-stakes trip to Israel and Egypt Sunday, after saying it would be a "very special" moment for efforts to end the Gaza war.Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington in light rain, AFP reporters said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA chief John Ratcliffe were also on the plane, the White House said.

More than 20 world leaders to attendMediators to ink guarantee documentCaptives, prisoners to be freed MondayA Gaza ceasefire was holding for a third day Sunday, ahead of a proposed hostage-prisoner exchange and a summit aimed at charting a path to peace after two years of war.US President Donald Trump is among the more than 20 world leaders expected in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh Monday for the Gaza peace summit co-hosted by his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. But neither Israel or Hamas will attend.Among those expected to attend are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan's King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Trump is due to arrive in Israel Monday to address the Knesset, the parliament, before traveling to Sharm El Sheikh for the summit.Egypt has said 21 nations will take part, with representation also expected from the EU and Arab League, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, Indonesia, India and Germany, among others.Iran also said it received an invitation, but did not indicate whether it would attend.The mediating nations for the ceasefire deal in Gaza are to sign a document guaranteeing the agreement at the summit, a diplomatic source said."The signatories will be the guarantors -- (the) US, Egypt, Qatar and likely Turkiye," the diplomat said, after the Egyptian foreign ministry earlier said a document ending the war in Gaza was expected to be signed during the gathering.Israel expects all hostages held in Gaza to be freed early Monday, a spokeswoman for the prime minister's office said, adding that all surviving captives are to be released simultaneously."The living hostages are to be released together at one time to the Red Cross and transported among six to eight vehicles," Shosh Bedrosian told journalists.The initial stage of the ceasefire deal includes the release of 48 Israeli hostages in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 Gazans held by Israel since the war broke out.An Israeli official said the Palestinian prisoners would be "released once Israel has confirmation that all of our hostages are across the border into Israel".A Hamas source close to the group's negotiating committee told AFP Sunday that it would not participate in governing post-war Gaza.More than 200 trucks carrying aid destined for Gaza, including six diesel fuel trucks and five carrying cooking gas, were unloaded Sunday at the Kerem Shalom crossing with the Palestinian territory.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured back into a shattered Gaza City after the guns fell silent.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held in Gaza for a third day on Sunday ahead of the expected release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and the Gaza peace summit in Cairo. Thousands of Palestinians continued to travel north towards Gaza City, the focus of Israeli attacks over the past two months, hopeful the ceasefire would bring an end to the war. "There is a lot of joy among the people," said Abdou Abu Seada, adding that the joy was tempered by exhaustion after two years of war that has destroyed much of Gaza. Government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said that Israel expected the hostages to start being released early Monday morning with the 20 living hostages to be released together. In the event that hostages were released earlier, Israel was ready to receive them, she said. Their release is to be followed later by the handover of bodies of the remaining 28 deceased hostages. Hamas will release its remaining hostages on Monday and will play no role in Gaza's future government, the group told AFP, as US President Donald Trump and other world leaders prepared to convene in Egypt for a major peace summit. Trump will first pass through Israel, addressing parliament and meeting with hostage families Monday before heading to Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh for the summit, where a "document ending the war in the Gaza Strip" is expected to be signed, according to Cairo's foreign ministry. As anxious but relieved Israeli families counted down the hours until their loved ones' return, desperate Palestinians picked through the ruins of their homes in Gaza City and aid trucks queued to deliver badly needed supplies. The third day of the ceasefire saw some aid trucks cross into Gaza, but residents in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Strip, said some shipments were being ransacked by starving residents in chaotic scenes. "We don't want to live in a jungle. We demand aid be secured and respectfully distributed," said Mohammed Zarab. "Look at how the food is lying on the ground. Look! People and cars are trampling it." For Mahmud al-Muzain, another bystander, the seizure of the aid parcels showed that Gaza did not trust that the US-led negotiations would lead to a long-term peace. "Everyone fears the war will return. People steal the aid and store it in their homes," he told AFP. "We stockpile food out of fear and worry that the war will come back." Any optimism that 38-year-old Fatima Salem might have felt when Israeli forces withdrew from her neighbourhood in Gaza City was shattered when she returned home to find it gone. "I returned to Sheikh Radwan with my heart trembling," she told AFP. "My eyes kept searching for landmarks I had lost -- nothing looked the same, even the neighbours' houses were gone. "Despite the exhaustion and fear, I felt like I was coming back to my safe place. I missed the smell of my home, even if it's now just rubble. We will pitch a tent next to it and wait for reconstruction." The Israel Prison Service said it had transferred some Palestinian prisoners to other facilities ahead of their expected release. The Israeli Ministry of Justice has released the names of 250 Palestinians, convicted of murder and other serious crimes, who are to be freed under the deal. The list does not include senior Hamas commanders that the Islamist militant group had sought to free, or prominent figures from other factions such as Marwan Al Barghouti or Ahmed Saadat. Although that was not expected to derail the agreement, Hamas' prisoners information office said that talks with Israeli mediators over the list of prisoners to be freed were ongoing. Israel is also to release 1,700 Palestinians who have been detained in Gaza since October 7, 2023 and 22 Palestinian minors, along with the bodies of 360 militants. Israeli government spokesperson Bedrosian said the prisoners would be released once the living hostages reach Israeli territory. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that once the hostages were returned, the military would destroy underground tunnels in Gaza built by Hamas. Palestinians returning to northern Gaza have described widespread devastation. Rescue workers warned there could be unexploded ordnance and bombs in the area. Amjad Al Shawa, who heads a Palestinian organisation coordinating with aid groups, estimated 300,000 tents were needed to temporarily house 1.5 million displaced Gazans. "We couldn't believe the destruction we have seen," Rami Mohammad-Ali, 37, said by phone after walking 15 km with his son from Deir Al Balah to Gaza City. Israelis were looking forward keenly to Monday, when Hamas is expected to release its remaining 48 hostages, living and dead. Late Saturday, massive crowds gathered in Tel Aviv to support hostage families and cheer Trump's peace envoy, Steve Witkoff. Thousands packed "Hostage Square" -- the scene of many protests and vigils during the two years since Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attacks triggered the latest war -- chanting "Thank you Trump!". "My emotions are immense, there are no words to describe them -- for me, for us, for all of Israel, which wants the hostages home and waits to see them all return," said Einav Zangauker, mother of 25-year-old hostage Matan Zangauker. Hamas will free the captives, 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive, in exchange for nearly 2,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails. "According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning," Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP in an interview. After Trump's visit to Israel on Monday, he and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair a summit of leaders from more than 20 countries in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian presidency announced. The meeting will aim "to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security", it said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he will attend, as has Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his counterparts from Italy and Spain, Giorgia Meloni and Pedro Sanchez, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Hamas and Israel are not expected to take part. Despite the apparent breakthrough, mediators still have the tricky task of securing a longer-term political solution that will see Hamas hand over its weapons and step aside from running Gaza. A Hamas source close to the group's negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that it would not participate in post-war Gaza governance. "Hamas will not participate at all in the transitional phase, which means it has relinquished control of the Strip, but it remains a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric," the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. But the official pushed back on calls for Hamas to lay down its weapons. "Hamas agrees to a long-term truce, and for its weapons not to be used at all during this period, except in the event of an Israeli attack on Gaza," the source said. Under the Trump plan, as Israel conducts a phased withdrawal from Gaza's cities, it will be replaced by a multi-national force from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, coordinated by a US-led command centre in Israel. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,682 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff expressed deep appreciation for the prominent role played by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye in achieving a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, praising the dedicated efforts of their leaders in reaching what he described as a long-awaited and historic moment. In a statement on Saturday, Witkoff thanked the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye for their crucial contributions, emphasizing that the close cooperation among the three countries and the United States demonstrated that perseverance and commitment can pave the way to peace in the Middle East. He noted that the agreement to halt Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip was once deemed impossible, highlighting that the commitment of all parties involved was key to the success of the negotiations. Witkoff also commended US President Donald Trump's determination to achieve a stable and prosperous Middle East, noting that the President has shown the world that peace in the region is attainable. He added that the US-sponsored agreement between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye, marks an important step toward consolidating security and stability in the Gaza Strip, reaffirming the possibility of peace in the wider region. Witkoff's remarks came after a ceasefire agreement was reached last Wednesday between Hamas and Israel under a US peace initiative. The first phase of the deal took effect Friday afternoon, providing for a cessation of hostilities, a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces, a mutual exchange of prisoners, and the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip. The approval of the initial phase followed four days of indirect negotiations between the two sides in Sharm El-Sheikh, with the participation of mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye, and under American supervision.

The United States and Egypt's top diplomats reviewed preparations for a summit in Sharm El-Sheikh that will bring the two countries' presidents together with other leaders to discuss implementing the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal, likely Monday.US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are expected to lead the summit, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday.Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday discussed arrangements for the gathering, including for "international participation in the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, as well as preparations for the implementation of the first phase of the (ceasefire) deal".Alongside the US and Qatar, Egypt has played a key role in mediating talks that eventually led to the latest ceasefire deal.French President Emmanuel Macron is set to travel to Egypt on Monday to back the deal, the Elysee Palace said, while Spain's Pedro Sanchez and Italy's Giorgia Meloni are also expected to attend.Earlier Trump had said he would meet a "lot of leaders" in Egypt on Monday to discuss the future of devastated Gaza.Israel has agreed to the truce plan put forward by Trump, and on Friday pulled troops back from several areas of Gaza, setting the clock in motion for hostages held by Hamas to be released within 72 hours.The head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday he visited Gaza to discuss post-conflict stabilization and insisted no US troops will be deployed to the Palestinian territory.Admiral Brad Cooper wrote on X that he just returned from a trip to Gaza to discuss creation of a CENTCOM-led "civil-military coordination center" which will "support conflict stabilization."Meanwhile, Israel has begun transferring prisoners to two jails ahead of their release as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.Under the truce deal Israel is supposed to release 250 prisoners, including some serving life sentences. In exchange, Hamas has until Monday to hand over its 48 remaining Israeli hostages -- living and dead.

Israeli forces redeployedHostages to be released by Monday noonQuestions remain about Trump's planTrump expected to travel to Israel, EgyptThousands of Palestinians streamed north along the coast of Gaza on Saturday, trekking by foot, car and cart back to their abandoned homes as a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas appeared to be holding.Israeli troops pulled back under the first phase of a US-brokered agreement reached this week to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left much of the enclave in ruins.**media[367309]**"It is an indescribable feeling; praise be to God," said Nabila Basal as she travelled by foot with her daughter, who she said had suffered a head wound in the war. "We are very, very happy that the war has stopped, and the suffering has ended."US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Gaza early Saturday to observe the Israeli military redeployment, Israeli Army Radio reported, citing a security source.**media[367311]**He was joined by the head of the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, who said in a statement that his visit was part of the establishment of a task force that would support stabilisation efforts in Gaza, though US troops would not be deployed inside the enclave.Once the Israeli forces had completed their redeployment on Friday, which keeps them out of major urban areas but still in control of roughly half the enclave, the clock began ticking for Hamas to release its hostages within 72 hours."We are very excited, waiting for our son and for all the 48 hostages," said Hagai Angrest, whose son Matan is among the 20 Israeli hostages believed to still be alive. "We are waiting for the phone call."**media[367310]**Twenty-six hostages have been declared dead in absentia and the fate of two more is unknown.According to the agreement, after the hostages are handed over, Israel will free 250 Palestinians serving long sentences in its prisons and 1,700 detainees captured during the war.Hundreds of trucks per day are expected to surge into Gaza carrying food and medical aid, according to the agreement.**media[367307]**But questions remain about whether the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal, the biggest step yet towards ending two years of war, will lead to a lasting peace under Trump's 20-point plan.Much could still go wrong. Further steps in Trump's plan have yet to be agreed.These include how the demolished Gaza Strip is to be ruled when fighting ends, and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has rejected Israel's demands it disarm.Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump expressed confidence the ceasefire would hold, saying: "They're all tired of the fighting." He said he believed there was a "consensus" on the next steps but acknowledged some details still have to be worked out.**media[367306]**Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced to end a war in which more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians, and to return the last hostages seized by Hamas.Trump is expected to visit the region on Monday and address the Knesset, Israel's parliament, the first US president to do so since George W. Bush in 2008.Trump said he would also travel to Egypt and that other world leaders were expected to be present.