Hostages set to be released as Trump heads to Israel
A ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip for the third day, ahead of the expected release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees and US President Donald Trump’s speech to the Israeli parliament.
Thousands of Palestinians continued to move north towards Gaza City, the focal point of Israeli attacks in the last two months, hoping that a ceasefire would bring an end to the war.
“There is great joy among the people,” Abdou Abu Seada said, adding that the joy had faded due to fatigue after two years of war that destroyed much of the Gaza Strip.
Government spokesman Shosh Bedrosyan said Israel expects the hostages to be released early on Monday morning, along with the release of all 20 surviving hostages.
He said that if the hostages were released sooner, Israel was ready to accept them.
After their release, the bodies of the 28 deceased hostages will be handed over.
A Hamas source told the DPA news agency that they planned to hand over all living hostages, as well as as many dead hostages as possible, by 6am local time (AEDT) on Monday.
Hamas plans to hand over the surviving hostages to International Committee of the Red Cross personnel at three locations in the Gaza Strip without a public ceremony or media presence.
Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is required to release the remaining hostages at noon on Monday, who were captured on Oct. 7, 2023, when the group’s militants launched a surprise attack on Israel that sparked the war.
Gal Hirsch, Israel’s hostage coordinator, said Thursday that a special task force will be established to help find the remains of dead hostages that Hamas has not been able to locate.
Trump will arrive in Israel on Monday to address the Knesset, the parliament, before heading to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt for a summit of world leaders on ending the Gaza Strip war.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner spoke at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday; many Israelis hoped this would be the last rally calling for the release of the hostages and an end to the war.
The United States, along with Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, brokered what was described as a first-phase agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas and the release of prisoners and detainees by Israel.
Demonstrator Dalia Yosef thanked Trump and said, “We have been waiting for this moment, this day, for two years… We are all happy for the family, for the hostages, we will finally see them.”
The Israel Prison Service said some Palestinian prisoners were transferred to other facilities ahead of their expected release.
The Israeli Ministry of Justice announced the names of 250 Palestinians convicted of murder and other serious crimes who will be released under the agreement.
The list does not include senior Hamas commanders the militant group is trying to free, or leading figures from other factions such as Marwan al-Barghouti or Ahmed Saadat.
While this is not expected to derail the deal, Hamas’ prisoners advisory office said talks were ongoing with Israeli mediators over a list of prisoners to be released.
Israel will also release 1,700 Palestinians, 22 Palestinian children and the bodies of 360 militants detained in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
Israeli government spokesman Bedrosian said that the detainees will be released after the surviving hostages reach Israeli territory.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the army will destroy underground tunnels built by Hamas in the Gaza Strip after the hostages are returned.
Eri Kaneko, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said supplies of cooking gas entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday for the first time since March.
Other aid sent included flour, fruit and meat.
With DPA and AP
