Hamas, the Palestinian militant group behind deadly attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, will free Israeli captives on Monday. Israel believes 20 of them are still alive. The release is part of a first-phase deal. Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners will be freed in exchange.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP, “According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning as agreed.”
International Summit to Follow
Later Monday, US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh with more than 20 countries. The summit will “end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend. Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Spain’s Pedro Sánchez, and France’s Emmanuel Macron will also join. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not confirmed attendance. Hamas said it will not attend directly, acting through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, according to Hossam Badran, a member of its political bureau.
Challenges for Hamas
Mediators face a tough task to secure a long-term political solution. Hamas would need to hand over weapons and step aside from governing Gaza.
Badran said the second phase of Trump’s plan “contains many complexities and difficulties.” Another Hamas official, speaking anonymously, said disarming was “out of the question.”
Multinational Force to Monitor Withdrawal
Under Trump’s plan, Israel will withdraw gradually from Gaza’s cities. A multinational force from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the UAE will take over. A US-led command centre in Israel will coordinate the mission.
On Saturday, US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to their damaged homes.
Witkoff, Kushner, and Trump’s daughter Ivanka then went to Tel Aviv to meet families of Israeli hostages. Crowds shouted, “Thank you Trump.”
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is among the hostages, said, “We will continue to shout and fight until everyone is home.” Zairo Shachar Mohr Munder, whose uncle Abraham was abducted, added, “We finally feel hope, but we cannot and will not stop now.”
Hostage and Prisoner Swap
Hamas must hand over 47 remaining hostages by Monday noon. These include both living and deceased captives from the 251 abducted in the 2023 attack. Another hostage, held since 2014, will also be returned.
Israel will release 250 prisoners, including some serving life sentences, and 1,700 Gazans detained since the war began. The Israeli prison service moved the 250 national security detainees to two prisons ahead of the handover.
Return to a Devastated Gaza
By Saturday evening, over 500,000 Palestinians returned to Gaza City, according to Hamas’ civil defence agency. Raja Salmi, 52, said, “We walked for hours, and every step was filled with fear and anxiety for my home. I stood before it and cried. All those memories are now just dust.”
Drone footage showed entire city blocks destroyed. Concrete and steel debris blocked streets. Five-storey apartment buildings had collapsed. Residents sifted through the rubble.
The UN’s humanitarian office said Israel has allowed agencies to transport 170,000 tonnes of aid into Gaza if the ceasefire holds.
Streets Filled with Rubble
Men, women, and children walked through streets full of debris and destroyed vehicles. Sami Musa, 28, checked his family home alone. “Thank God… I found that our home is still standing,” he said. “It felt like a ghost town, not Gaza. The smell of death still lingers in the air.”
Israel’s campaign has killed at least 67,682 people in Gaza, according to Hamas’ health ministry, figures the UN considers credible. Most victims are women and children, though the data does not separate civilians from combatants.