Gaza ceasefire live: Israelis and Palestinians celebrate hostage and detainee releases as key truce issues remain | Israel

There are some comments we made Donald Trump Egypt is on its way back from a summit in Egypt, where Qatar, Türkiye and the United States signed a declaration as guarantors of a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending Israel’s devastating war in Gaza.

When asked whether the agreement he made on Air Force One and the return of all 20 living Israeli hostages would lead to a Palestinian state, Trump said:

We are talking about the reconstruction of Gaza. I’m not talking about one state, two states, two states. We are talking about the reconstruction of Gaza.

Many people like the one-state solution. Some like two-state solutions. We’ll have to see. I did not comment on this.

According to the Sharm el-Sheikh declaration, the signatories pledged to “pursue a comprehensive vision of peace, security and shared prosperity in the region” and welcomed “the progress made in establishing comprehensive and lasting peace arrangements in the Gaza Strip.”

However, the statement was extremely vague about the path to be followed for a sustainable peace between Israel and its neighbors, including the Palestinians, and did not mention a one- or two-state solution.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who chaired the summit together with Trump, said that the Gaza agreement “closed a painful page in human history” and paved the way for a two-state solution.

Israel and Hamas released hostages and detainees on Monday, taking a key first step in a tenuous Gaza ceasefire agreement, raising hopes that the US-brokered agreement could lead to a permanent end to the devastating two-year war.

However, controversial issues such as whether Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza remain unresolved, revealing the fragility of the ceasefire.

In important developments:

• Hamas released 20 remaining live hostages in Gaza on Monday as part of a swap deal for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. In a rare moment of joy between Israelis and Palestinians.

• World leaders from more than 20 countries later met at a summit in Egypt It was co-chaired by Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with the aim of ensuring that the limited ceasefire turns into a permanent peace.

• “We finally have peace in the Middle East,” Donald Trump said at the meeting where his counterparts lined up behind him.. The US president signed a joint statement with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye aimed at turning the ceasefire into a coherent peace plan, amid widespread concerns about how long the ceasefire will last. There were no representatives from Israel and Hamas at the signing ceremony.

• Trump addressed the Knesset (parliament) in Israel early MondayHe urges lawmakers to seize the chance for broader peace in the region and says a “long nightmare” is over for both Israelis and Palestinians.

• Approximately 65,000 Israelis in Tel Aviv’s “Hostages Square” applauded as a military helicopter carrying 20 freed Israelis flew overhead on the way to the hospital. Live footage of their release and family reunion was broadcast in the square. The bodies of four hostages held in Gaza and handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas on Monday were brought back to Israel, the army said.

• A large crowd also gathered in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday to celebrate the return of about 1,700 Palestinians. The arrival of 88 Palestinian prisoners, who were sentenced to life imprisonment by Israeli courts, to Ramallah, the capital of the West Bank, was welcomed by the public. Approximately 160 more people were deported via Egypt after their release.

• The UN has warned that Gaza still needs “life-saving assistance”. Aid shipments to Gaza started The UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, said many more were poised to enter in the coming days.

• The last Gaza ceasefire was broken two months later in March When Israel resumed its attack. Trump insisted his 20-point proposal to preserve peace and rebuild Gaza would take root.

• A ceasefire appeared to hold in Gaza on Monday Following a two-year Israeli military offensive by Hamas that killed nearly 68,000 people on October 7, 2023, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.
  With reporting by Julian Borger, Seham Tantesh, Daniel Boffey and AP