Hamas hands over 20 Israeli hostages; Buses leave Ofer prison with Palestinian prisoners
Key updates-
- All remaining living Israeli hostages handed over in Gaza
- Palestinian prisoners also due to be released Monday
- US President Donald Trump has arrived in Israel
- Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu greeted him
- Trump is due to meet hostage families and address Israel's parliament
- World leaders to gather in Egypt for Gaza summit
Hamas handed over all 20 surviving hostages to Israel on Monday, a major step towards ending two years of devastating war in Gaza as US President Donald Trump, who helped broker the truce, proclaimed it was "a great day".
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The Israeli military said it had received the remaining 13 hostages after a first batch of seven arrived earlier on Monday, announcements that prompted cheering, hugging and weeping among thousands waiting at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.
"This is a great day. This is a new beginning," Trump said after arriving to a hero's welcome in Israel where he was addressing the Knesset before flying on to Egypt for a summit aimed at building conditions for a lasting peace in Gaza.
Asked if the two-year Gaza war was over, he said: "Yes."
Buses carrying freed Palestinian detainees as part of the ceasefire and hostage release deal also began moving towards the Palestinian enclave from Israeli prisons, footage on Israeli television showed.
The releases are part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump, with Israel due in return to free nearly 2,000 detainees held in its jails in exchange.
Here are the real-time updates-
03:35pm
Hamas urges Tump, mediators to ensure Israel does not resume 'aggression' against Gazans
AFP
03:28pm
Buses leave Israeli Ofer prison as Palestinian prisoners due for release: AFP journalist
Several buses left Israel's Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank on Monday, an AFP journalist saw, with the release of Palestinian prisoners expected under a ceasefire agreement following Hamas's release of 20 surviving Israeli hostages.
Israel's prison authority had said over the weekend that it was preparing prisoners who were due for release from two prisons, including Ofer, as part of the agreement.
AFP
03:15pm
Germany's Merz says murdered Israeli hostages must return home
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday welcomed the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, adding that murdered hostages must be returned as well for the benefit of their families.
"The murdered hostages must also return home so that their families can say goodbye with dignity, Merz said on X.
Reuters
03:10pm
UN chief Guterres calls for using momentum to advance Gaza talks
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that the release of hostages provides momentum that must be used to end the war between Palestinian militants and Israel in the Gaza Strip.
"I urge all parties to build on this momentum and to honor their commitments under the ceasefire to end the nightmare in Gaza," he said on X.
Reuters
02:20pm
Trump arrives at Israeli parliament for speech
US President Donald Trump arrived on Monday at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, where he was to address lawmakers on his plans for Middle East peace.
Greeted by speaker Amir Ohana and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump, who smiled on his arrival, said the visit was a "great honour".
AFP
02:10pm
Hamas handed over all 20 living Israeli hostages to Red Cross: public broadcaster
Hamas handed over all 20 surviving Israeli hostages to Red Cross representatives in Gaza on Monday, Israel's public broadcaster reported.
The group was released in two batches, with a second group of 13 hostages transferred in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, the broadcaster said.
AFP
01:50pm
Second group of 13 Israeli hostages released to Red Cross: public radio
AFP
01:35pm
Palestinian president Abbas to attend Gaza summit: Macron
AFP
01:30pm
China says 'welcomes' Gaza hostage release
China said on Monday it "welcomes" the release of hostages by Hamas as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Asked about the release in a regular press conference, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China hailed the developments while calling for stability in the region.
AFP
01:20pm
EU to restart Gaza-Egypt border monitoring mission Wednesday: Kallas
The European Union will Wednesday restart a civilian mission to monitor the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in support of a ceasefire deal, the bloc's top diplomat said Monday.
"The EU stands ready to do its part," Kaja Kallas posted on X after Hamas released a first group of Israeli hostages as part of the US-brokered agreement. "This mission can play an important role in supporting the ceasefire," she said.
AFP
01:15pm
Israeli families made video calls with unreleased hostages
Israeli hostages who have not yet been released made video calls from Gaza with their families on Monday, according to the main association of hostage relatives as well as Hamas sources.
The Hostages and Families Forum shared videos and photos of the relatives of Matan Zangauker, Nimrod Cohen and Ariel and David Cunio -- hostages who, according to Israeli authorities, have not yet been released -- making calls.
Several sources within Hamas also confirmed to AFP that these calls had taken place, without giving further details.
AFP
01:10pm
Israel army says Red Cross on way to pick up second group of hostages
A Red Cross convoy is on its way to pick up a second group of Israeli hostages to be freed by Hamas as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal Monday, the Israeli military said.
An army statement said the handover would take place at "an additional meeting point in the southern Gaza Strip, where several hostages will be handed over to the Red Cross."
AFP
01:10pm
Trump says would be 'proud' to visit Gaza
AFP
01:02pm
EU welcomes Gaza hostage release, 'made possible by President Trump'
The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, welcomed on Monday the release of seven Israeli hostages by Hamas, highlighting US President Donald Trump's role in this "crucial milestone towards peace".
"President Trump made this breakthrough possible," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
AFP
12:50pm
Air Force One lands in Israel
US President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday to address parliament, before he is scheduled to travel to Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh for a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war.
Reuters
12:48pm
Israel president says 'waiting for everyone' after Hamas frees seven hostages from Gaza
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday welcomed the release of seven hostages by Hamas and said that Israel is awaiting the release of all remaining captives.
"With thanks to God we welcome our loved ones. We are waiting for everyone -- every last one," Herzog posted on X after the Israeli army confirmed it had received the first group of seven hostages released from Gaza.
AFP
12:35pm
Israel says has received seven Gaza hostages
The Israeli military received on Monday seven released hostages who were earlier handed to the Red Cross in Gaza, the army and security service said.
"We've been waiting 738 days to say this: Welcome home," the Israeli foreign ministry posted on X, identifying the released captives as Guy Gilboa Dalal, Eitan Mor, Matan Angrest, Alon Ohel, Gali and Ziv Berman and Omri Miran.
AFP
12:32pm
French president says peace 'possible' for Israel, Gaza with hostage release
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday hailed the release by Hamas of Israeli hostages still alive in the Gaza strip, saying with their release "peace becomes possible for Israel, for Gaza, and for the region".
"I share the joy of the families and of the Israeli people as seven hostages have just been handed over to the Red Cross," Macron wrote on X after arriving in Egypt for a summit on Gaza.
In total, 20 living hostages are set to be returned to Israel on Monday morning.
12:27pm
Israel hostage forum says 'struggle not over' after seven freed by Hamas
An Israeli hostages campaign group said Monday it would continue its work to secure the return of all hostages held in Gaza, following Hamas's release of an initial group of seven captives.
"Our struggle is not over. It will not end until the last hostage is located and returned for proper burial. This is our moral obligation. Only then will the people of Israel be whole," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, in a statement.
AFP
11:50am
Israeli army confirms seven hostages transferred to Red Cross in Gaza
Seven Israeli hostages were transferred to the Red Cross in Gaza on Monday, the first group of what is expected to be 20 survivors, according to the Israeli military and security service.
"According to information provided by the Red Cross, seven hostages have been transferred into their custody, and are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
"The IDF is prepared to receive additional hostages who are expected to be transferred to the Red Cross later on."
AFP
10:50am
Israeli military says Red Cross on way to pick up first Gaza hostages
A Red Cross convoy is on its way to pick up a first batch of Israeli hostages to be freed by Hamas as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal, the Israeli military said Monday.
An army statement said the handover would take place at "a meeting point in the northern Gaza Strip where several hostages will be transferred".
"The IDF is prepared to receive additional hostages who are expected to be transferred to the Red Cross later on," it added after Hamas's armed wing published a list of 20 surviving hostages it intends to release.
AFP
10:10am
Palestinian group Hamas published on Monday the names of the 20 Israeli hostages to be released under the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.
The names included Bar Abraham Kupershtein, Evyatar David, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Segev Kalfon, Avinatan Or, Elkana Bohbot, Maxim Herkin, Nimrod Cohen, Matan Angrest, Matan Zangauker, Eitan Horn, Eitan Abraham Mor, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Omri Miran, Alon Ohel, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Rom Braslavski, Ariel Cunio and David Cunio.
Reuters
09:38am
Hamas and Israel set for hostage and prisoner exchanges
Under the US president's proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian group have handed over the surviving hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange.
Israel expects all 20 living hostages to be released to the Red Cross "early Monday morning", according to a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One at the start of the "very special" visit, Trump brushed off concerns about whether the ceasefire would endure.
"I think it's going to hold. I think people are tired of it. It's been centuries," he said of the fighting.
"The war is over. Okay? You understand that?" the US president added.
In Israel, Trump is due to meet the families of hostages seized by Hamas in the deadly cross-border attack two years ago that sparked the war, before addressing the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem.
His trip is partly a victory lap over the Gaza deal he helped broker with a 20-point peace plan announced in late September.
"Everybody's very excited about this moment in time," Trump said earlier as he prepared to board the plane at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
Key US officials travelling with him included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and top military officer Dan Caine.
- Final details -
Negotiators were still wrangling late Sunday over the final arrangements for the exchanges, with two Hamas sources telling AFP the group was insisting that Israel include seven senior Palestinian leaders on the list of those to be released.
Israel has previously rejected at least one of those names.
The sources said the group and its allies had nevertheless "completed all preparations" for handing over to Israel all the living hostages.
Israel does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday.
Under the plan, Hamas is to release all the remaining 47 hostages -- living and deceased -- who were abducted on October 7, 2023, during its attack on Israel that left 1,219 people dead, most of them civilians.
Hamas is also expected to hand over the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza war.
Among the Palestinian prisoners to be released, 250 are security detainees, including many convicted of killing Israelis, while about 1,700 were detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during the war.
- Peace summit -
After visiting Israel, Trump will head to Egypt where he and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of more than 20 world leaders to back his plan to end the Gaza war and promote Middle East peace.
Trump will be looking to resolve some of the huge uncertainty around the next phases of the peace plan -- including Hamas's refusal to disarm and Israel's failure to pledge a full withdrawal from the devastated territory.
Trump insisted he had "guarantees" from both sides and other key regional players about the initial phase of the deal, and the future stages.
"I don't think they're going to want to disappoint me," he said.
Trump also said he would be "proud" to visit Gaza itself, but did not say when such a difficult security challenge would be possible.
A new governing body for devastated Gaza -- which Trump himself would head under his own plan -- would be established "very quickly," he added.
Under the plan, as Israel conducts a partial withdrawal from Gaza, it will be replaced by a multi-national force coordinated by a US-led command centre in Israel.
Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,806 people, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers credible.
The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.
AFP
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