Donald Trump says Hamas are gathering Israeli hostages ‘now’ ahead of historic handover as thousands of Palestinians trudge home through Gaza rubble
Donald Trump said Hamas is currently collecting hostages in Gaza before handing them over to Israel under a historic peace deal.
The US President added that the terror group was ‘now’ collecting hostages to hand over to the Israeli army in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, some of whom were being held in ‘pretty tough locations’.
Hamas has released about 20 live Israeli hostages by Monday, while Israel will release about 250 Palestinians sentenced to prison and about 1,700 people seized from Gaza in the past two years and held without charge.
The Israeli army began to deploy troops to the outskirts of Gaza after completing the partial withdrawal from the region, as stated in the ceasefire agreement with Hamas that came into force at 12:00 on Friday.
The versions have a strong resonance on both sides. Israelis consider the prisoners, some of whom were involved in suicide attacks, as terrorists.
Many Palestinians view the thousands of people held by Israel as political prisoners or freedom fighters resisting decades of military occupation.
Most of those on Israel’s prison list are members of Hamas and the Fatah group who were arrested in the 2000s.
Many were convicted of participating in shootings, bombings or other attacks that killed or attempted to kill Israeli civilians, settlers and soldiers.
According to the list, after their release, more than half will be exiled to Gaza or outside the Palestinian territories.
US President Donald Trump (pictured) said Hamas was collecting hostages in Gaza before handing them over to Israel
Displaced Palestinians walk with their belongings along the coastal road towards Gaza City
Palestinians are advancing towards the northern Gaza Strip, carrying whatever belongings they managed to take with them
The 2000s saw the outbreak of the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising fueled by anger at the occupation that continued despite years of peace talks.
The uprising turned bloody, with Palestinian armed groups carrying out attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis and the Israeli army killing thousands of Palestinians.
One of the prisoners to be released is Islamic Jihad commander Iyad Abu al-Rub, who was convicted of organizing suicide attacks that killed 13 people in Israel between 2003 and 2005.
The oldest and longest-detained person released is Samir Abu Naama, a 64-year-old Fatah member who was arrested in the West Bank in 1986 and convicted of planting explosives.
The youngest of these is Mohammed Abu Qatish, who was 16 when he was arrested in 2022 and was convicted of attempted stabbing.
