Hamas released all 20 of the last living hostages on Monday, the Israeli military said, as part of a breakthrough ceasefire after two years of war between Israel and Hamas in the devastated Gaza Strip.
Buses carrying dozens of freed Palestinian prisoners drove to the West Bank city of Ramallah and the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run Prisoners Office said, as Israel has released more than 1,900 prisoners.
U.S. President Donald Trump is in the region to discuss
postwar plans and the U.S.-proposed deal with other leaders. A surge of humanitarian aid was expected into famine-stricken Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless.
While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners marked a key step toward ending the deadliest war ever between Israel and the militant group. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited but declined, with his office saying it was too close to a Jewish holiday.
Here’s the latest:
Trump was seen chatting briefly with Mahmoud Abbas before the two leaders posed for a photo. Trump tugged at Abbas’ hand and asked him to turn around for the photographers.
The Trump administration barred Abbas from traveling to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly last month.
Trump’s Mideast peace plan envisions a return of Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to running Gaza, but only after an open-ended reform process. The Palestinian Authority currently administers small pockets of territory in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Despite unanswered questions about next steps in Gaza, which has been devastated during the conflict, Trump is determined to seize an opportunity to chase an elusive regional harmony.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us, and to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past,” Trump plans to say during the summit, according to excerpts released by the White House.
He expressed a similar sense of finality about the war in his speech at the Knesset, which welcomed him as a hero.
“You’ve won,” he told Israeli lawmakers.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were among the leaders who walked, one by one, to pose alongside the American president.
Trump smiled and gave a thumbs-up as photographers snapped away.
Leaders of the Reform Judaism movement, representing the largest branch of Judaism in the United States, welcomed the hostages’ release in a statement that also expressed empathy with Palestinian civilians.
“We pray that the innocent Palestinian civilians who have suffered mightily from Hamas’ brutality and the crossfire of this deadly war will finally experience safety, consistent flow of vitally needed humanitarian aid, civilian leadership committed to finding a path to peace,” the statement said.
“We pray that courageous leaders will press forward on the path to a Palestinian State as outlined in the American plan. However remote it may feel, a two-state solution in some configuration must remain the worthy, long-term goal for Israelis and Palestinians as they contemplate a future with safety, dignity, and hope for all.”
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s comments come during a meeting with Trump. The leaders are co-chairing a summit on postwar Gaza in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
El-Sissi urged Trump to support a Gaza reconstruction conference Egypt is planning to host next month.
El-Sissi, whose government has served as a key mediator in ceasefire talks, also said Egypt is working to ensure that bodies of hostages in Gaza are found and handed over to Israel, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
As he sat alongside the Egyptian leader, Trump returned to one of his favorite topics to discuss: crime.
During an impromptu bilateral meeting, Trump called el-Sissi “very powerful” and noted that there is “no crime” in Egypt.
“They have very little crime, you know. Because they don’t play games,” Trump said, adding: “Because they don’t play games like we do in the United States, with governors that have no idea what they’re doing.”
Later, Trump again remarked on the crime levels in Egypt and said el-Sissi “puts it out very quickly.”
“Some people think that’s not nice, but I think it’s great because people don’t want to be mugged and smashed, and they don’t want to be stupid people,” Trump said.
Egypt, home to over 115 million people, does face crime, particularly the harassment of women. However, its police use heavy-handed tactics, including torture, human rights activists have said.
Trump’s lead Middle East negotiator predicted a long presence by the U.S. in the region following the ceasefire deal.
“We’re dug in,” said Witkoff, as Trump met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in Sharm El-Sheikh. “We’ll be here quite a bit. That’s at the direction of the president.”
Witkoff also praised Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, saying: “Jared is remarkable to work with.”
“The minute we inked the deal, Jared and I were already working on the implementation side,” Witkoff added.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who Trump has suggested would play a key role in governing postwar Gaza, is attending a summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Blair was met by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi upon his arrival to the venue, according to the Egyptian presidency.
Under Trump’s plan for Gaza, Blair would potentially lead a transitional authority that would run the Palestinian enclave. The proposed body would combine international expertise, technocrats, U.N. officials and Palestinian representatives, and would function under a U.N. mandate.
Trump has arrived in Egypt for a summit with world leaders on Gaza.
Air Force One, escorted by Egyptian fighter jets, touched down at Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport. Trump is planning to attend what the White House has billed as a signing ceremony, helping to solidify a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
The flight followed Trump spending hours in Israel, where he met with relatives of hostages and gave a lengthy speech before parliament. Trump has called on Israel and the Arab world to seize on a U.S.-backed ceasefire as a means of promoting a larger peace around the Middle East.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a diplomatic initiative to prevent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from attending a summit in Egypt on Monday aimed at cementing the ceasefire in Gaza, according to a Turkish government official.
The official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, said Netanyahu ultimately decided not to participate after Turkey’s effort gained support from several other nations.
Netanyahu’s office announced that he would not attend the summit, citing a Jewish holiday.
The Turkish official declined to confirm media reports claiming Erdogan’s plane circled above the Red Sea as the president threatened to boycott the meeting, and that it only landed once it was clear Netanyahu would not be present.
— By Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey
Russia’s top diplomat on Monday expressed support for the full implementation of the Gaza ceasefire.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said “we very much hope that everything that has been agreed upon will be fulfilled.”
At the same time, he noted the importance to develop a plan for creating a Palestinian state in the future.
Lavrov added that Moscow will be ready to join efforts to support any agreements if those involved ask for its assistance.
It was not immediately clear when the remaining 24 bodies would be sent back to Israel.
The families of the deceased captives have demanded the bodies be returned as part of the current ceasefire deal.
After a lengthy speech to Israel’s parliament, Trump boarded Air Force One for a flight to Egypt, where he will attend a summit with many world leaders on Gaza.
On the tarmac, the president bid farewell to Netanyahu and his wife.
The Israeli prime minister was invited to the summit, but declined because it was too close to the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.
Trump then walked to the top of the steps and pumped his fist while he pointed at someone, likely Netanyahu. He said, “Great job, Bibi, great job,” before stepping inside.
Trump’s plane will head to Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport for what the White House has billed as a “ Summit for Peace.”
The father of one of the hostages who has spent years in a wheelchair after a car accident and stroke made a promise: when his son was released from captivity in Gaza, he would stand to welcome him home.
On Monday, in footage shown on Israeli media, family members sobbed as they helped Tal Kupershtein stand for a few minutes to hug his son, Bar, after he was released from two years in captivity in Gaza.
Tal Kupershtein also worked with a physical therapist to partially regain his ability to speak, so that he could advocate for his son, he said.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer says that his country is ready to assist in monitoring the ceasefire in Gaza, offering the U.K.’s experience in Northern Ireland to help in the decommissioning of Hamas’ military capability.
Speaking at a summit in Egypt, Starmer said Britain was read to “play its full part” in ensuring that the current ceasefire results in a lasting peace.
“We stand ready in relation to monitoring the ceasefire and decommissioning Hamas capability and weaponry, and that’s drawing on our experience in Northern Ireland and the IRA, which we dealt with in particular in relation to decommissioning,” he said in a joint appearance with the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says he hopes U.S. President Donald Trump will bring to bear the same influence on Russia’s government to end the war in Ukraine as he did on players in the Middle East to secure an end to fighting in Gaza.
Merz said he wants to use the opportunity offered by Monday’s summit in Egypt to discuss again with Trump “what we can do together to end that war,” which has been going on for 3 ½ years.
Merz added: “From this place, the signal goes out that if the world community stands together, it is possible. But it must not just be possible in this place – it must also be possible in other regions of the world, and for us Europeans this war in Europe is the biggest threat to our freedom.”
An Egyptian official says 154 Palestinian prisoners who were released and deported by Israel arrived in Egypt at the Rafah crossing with Gaza.
The freed prisoners were to be sent to third countries as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, said the official, who has direct knowledge of the deal’s implementation. He spoke on condition of anonymity because has not authorized to brief the media.
The prisoners were among more than 1,900 Palestinians being freed by Israel in exchange for Hamas’ release of its remaining hostages.
The president even waded into Israeli domestic politics, surprisingly urging the Israeli president to pardon Netanyahu on corruption charges.
“That was not in the speech as you probably know,” Trump joked of his prepared remarks. He added to Netanyahu, “You are a very popular man. You know why? Because you know how to win.”
Netanyahu became the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to be indicted when he was charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases after yearslong investigations accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy political supporters.
But Trump declared, “Whether we like it or not, this has been one of the greatest wartime presidents ... and cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who traveled to Egypt to participate in a summit of world leaders aimed at solidifying the end of the war in Gaza Monday, informed Egyptian and U.S. officials that he would withdraw from the summit if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported.
Egypt’s presidency initially said Netanyahu would attend the summit, but Netanyahu’s office said Monday that he would not attend due to a Jewish holiday. The summit in Sharm el-Sheikh is co-chaired by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and U.S. President Donald Trump and will include around two dozen world leaders.
The president concluded his rambling speech to the Knesset after a bit more than an hour.
His address was so lengthy that even after Trump said, “In closing” he continued for several more minutes.
Trump is still planning to head to Egypt for a summit later Tuesday featuring the leaders of many countries – though his trip is now hours behind schedule.
Trump’s speech to Israel’s parliament was preceded by lengthy speeches from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Knesset speaker and the opposition leader.
Trump was mid-speech more than an hour after he was due to arrive in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss peace in the Middle East with other world leaders.
“I’ll be going there. I’ll be quite late,” Trump joked. “They might not be there by the time I get there but we’ll give it a shot.”
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank rejoiced as prisoners released in an exchange with Israel left Ofer Prison and arrived in Beitunia.
Waving flags and wearing keffiyehs, hundreds gathered outside the Ramallah Palace of Culture to greet them. Reports by human rights groups detailing conditions in Israeli detention have made Palestinian prisoners enduring symbols of their people’s struggle.
“It was an indescribable journey of suffering — hunger, unfair treatment, oppression, torture and curses — more than anything you could imagine,” said Kamal Abu Shanab, a 51-year-old Fatah member from Tulkarem.
His face gaunt and his head shaved, Abu Shanab’s family said they barely recognized him. He said he lost 139 pounds (59 kilograms) during 18 1/2 years in prison. Most prisoners were serving long sentences for their involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says the bodies of 60 Palestinians have been recovered from under the rubble of destroyed buildings and brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours.
That brought the number of recovered bodies to 200 in the past four days since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect and Israeli troops pulled back from some parts of Gaza.
The ministry says many dead are still under the rubble, particularly in areas inaccessible to first responders.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza killed more than 67,800 Palestinians, according to the health ministry. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but says around half of the dead were women and children.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it declined an invitation to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in Egypt, based on its interests as well as U.S. “unilateralistic policy.”
The spokesman for the ministry, Esmail Baghaei, told reporters that the decision came after discussion both inside the ministry and other decision-making bodies in the country. “Positive and negative dimensions of any decision including participation and avoiding participation were calculated and eventually led to a decision that secures betterments and interests of the country.”
He added: “Today, the Jewish calendar marks the end of two years of war.”
The ceasefire started on Friday and included the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for hostages. The later stages of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire are still being worked out.
