Israeli hostages release timetable as the world holds its breath | World | News

While 20 Israeli hostages who have been held captive for more than two years are on the verge of freedom, approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners are also preparing to be released.

Starving, injured and deeply distressed hostages were rounded up in Gaza throughout the day by their captors, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihadists, with the expectation of their mass release within a few hours.

Many hostages may be unable to walk, severely dehydrated, or need assistance to journey to freedom; Meanwhile, anxious family members wait for them just across the border.

In recent days, both terrorist groups have been trying to collect all 20 hostages and hide their previous location. Although Israeli sources estimated that the hostages would be released early on Monday morning, officials stated that they were ready to receive the hostages earlier.

Those captured during the October 7 massacre in southern Israel, which sparked the brutal two-year Gaza conflict, are being dramatically rounded up to be handed over to Red Cross officials. Mirror reports.

The process of securing their release began on Sunday evening, when Israel launched a major security and medical operation both within and across the border.

While the release of the hostages is expected to begin, US President Donald Trump is going to Israel to take a share in the rescue of the hostages before going to Egypt for the Middle East summit.

Israeli special forces were on high alert, ready to attack the area over concerns that Palestinian mobs might round up hostages before they were handed over to the Red Cross.

Inside information reveals that Hamas was warned that if the hostages were attacked, the Israeli Armed Forces would retaliate by attacking the crowd and deploying ground troops.

Although it was decided to release the hostages at the same time, it is claimed that they may be delivered to different places. Three potential handover locations have been identified by sources.

The hostages, gathered in an Israeli-controlled area of ​​Gaza, will be transferred to the Israel Defense Forces before being transported in eight vehicles to Re’im Base in southern Israel.

Six to eight vehicles have been arranged to transport them to Re’im, and as soon as they enter Israeli territory, the buses carrying Palestinian detainees in Israel will start their engines.

Palestinian prisoners are expected to be pre-loaded onto numerous wagons; most of them will be sent to Gaza or deported to neighboring countries. The timing of the handover of Palestinian prisoners and their travel to other countries has not yet been specified.

Family members in Israel will be waiting for the hostages at Re’im base, where medical teams will be on hand to provide emergency treatment if necessary.

After enduring 734 days of harrowing captivity, surviving bombings, torture and starvation, the 20 hostages were flown to three hospitals for medical checks and some for emergency treatment. The hostages’ priority hospitals will be Sheba outside Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva.

Medical teams have been waiting for several hours to take the hostages. If urgent medical treatment is needed, hostages will be quickly transferred to Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba or Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, closer to Gaza.

Special rooms were arranged for the hostages, with a single bed next to the patient’s bed, and where a relative could sleep nearby if the patient wished.

Some time after their release, some 28 coffins containing the bodies of the deceased hostages would be handed over to the Red Cross, which would then be handed over to IDF troops in Israeli-controlled Gaza.

Soldiers plan to cover the wooden coffins with Israeli flags, and a brief Jewish ceremony and prayer is planned before the dead are handed over to experts.

The National Forensic Center – Abu Kabir – is completing preparations to receive the bodies of the martyred hostages to verify their identities, as in previous cases.

This grim mission will also involve determining how they died, what happened to them before their lives were cut tragically short, and how their bodies were stored.

Starting at noon on Monday, the deadline for the surrender of all hostages, living and dead, an official search will begin for those still missing.

Insider sources revealed that 15 of the 28 bodies recovered may still be missing, lost or destroyed in the conflict between Hamas and Palestinian Jihad.

Sadly, it may take weeks or even months to find the remains of missing Israeli hostages among the ruins of Gaza. A special team was formed to search for the missing deceased.

The body search unit consists of representatives from Israel, America, Egypt, Türkiye and Qatar, working with the Red Cross. They provide manpower, funding and intelligence to assist in this challenging mission.

Meanwhile, Palestinians, relieved that the war is over, are returning to their homes and memories, which, as many put it, “turned to dust.”

Despite their pain, they return to their shattered homes; thousands to northern Gaza, a dusty wasteland, and more than half a million to Gaza City on Saturday evening. Local woman Raja Salmi, 52, recounted: “We walked for hours and every step was filled with fear and anxiety for my home.”

When he reached the Al-Rimal neighborhood, he saw that his house was destroyed. He reportedly said: “I stood in front of you and cried. All these memories are just dust now.”

A convoy of aid trucks began flowing into Gaza on Sunday morning; The images showed a queue of trucks at the Rafah border gate with Egypt. As part of the peace agreement, supplies are being delivered to the devastated strip.

Israel has rejected Sir Keir Starmer’s claim that Britain played a “key role” in securing a ceasefire in Gaza as it prepares to attend a Middle East peace summit.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel, has contradicted claims that the UK is a major player “behind the scenes”.

Earlier on Sunday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson defended Britain’s efforts to end the war in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire remains. He said: “We played an important role behind the scenes in shaping this.

“These are complex diplomatic issues in which we are involved, but we welcome and acknowledge the critical role the American government has played in getting us to this point.”

In the afternoon, Ms Haskel criticized the decision to recognize Palestinian statehood and accused Britain of undermining the prospects for peace by encouraging Hamas.

He said: “UK Government, Macron’s plan, the whole talk about the declaration of a Palestinian state; we disagree with you.”

Contradicting Ms Phillipson’s portrayal of the UK’s efforts, the minister said: “Unfortunately I have to contradict her words.

“Unfortunately, with the declaration of Palestinian state two months ago, at a very sensitive time when teams were already negotiating at the table, when we really believed we could reach an agreement, the message the UK Government sent to Hamas was that they will be rewarded for the longer they continue this war.”

Last month, the UK joined forces with countries such as France, Australia and Canada that recognize the state of Palestine. Sir Keir Starmer is set to attend the “signing ceremony” for the Gaza peace plan in Sharm El Sheikh on Monday, where he is expected to praise Mr Trump.

Downing Street said it would offer “particular praise” to the US leader and regional partners for “getting us to this point”, before calling for “rapid progress towards phase two”.

The 20-item plan prepared by the US president proposes that Israel maintain an indefinite military presence in Gaza, along the Israeli border. An international force consisting mostly of soldiers from Arab and Muslim countries will oversee the security of the region.

The Israeli military has confirmed that it will continue defensive operations from the approximately 50 percent of Gaza it still controls after withdrawing to agreed lines.

Former British Labor Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair is set to play a key role in the “Peace Board” overseeing the administration in Gaza. Meanwhile, nearly 200 U.S. troops have landed in Israel, where they are expected to establish a center to facilitate humanitarian aid distribution and offer security assistance.

The conflict in Gaza was sparked when Hamas-led militants launched an unexpected attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 251 people.

In response, Israel launched a counteroffensive that resulted in the killing of more than 67,000 Palestinians and wounding nearly 170,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

Both the United Nations and numerous independent experts consider the department’s figures to be the most accurate estimate of wartime casualties.