Hamas has handed over seven surviving Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, marking the first phase of a long-awaited ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the devastating Gaza war.
According to the Israeli military, a Red Cross convoy was already en route early Monday to collect the initial group of Israeli captives, as both sides begin implementing a complex hostage-prisoner exchange deal mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hamas is expected to release 47 Israeli hostages—both living and deceased—in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 Gazans held by Israel since the conflict began. The group will also hand over the remains of a soldier killed in 2014.
Israel’s government said all 20 living hostages listed by Hamas are expected to be transferred to the Red Cross and returned to Israeli territory by midday Monday. In turn, Israel will begin freeing prisoners once confirmation of the hostages’ safe return is received.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has departed for Israel and Egypt, where he will co-chair a high-stakes Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The summit, described by Cairo as “historic,” is expected to produce a signed document officially ending the Gaza war and setting the stage for long-term regional stability.
Over 20 world leaders, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will attend. However, neither Israel nor Hamas will be represented at the gathering.
A Hamas official told AFP that the group will not take part in governing post-war Gaza but will remain “a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric.” The source added that Hamas had agreed to a long-term truce and would not use its weapons “except in the event of an Israeli attack.”
As diplomacy unfolds, more than 200 aid trucks—including shipments of fuel and cooking gas—have crossed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, bringing much-needed relief to a population devastated by months of conflict. Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that over half a million displaced residents have already returned to the ruins of Gaza City since the ceasefire began.
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