(The Hill) — President Donald Trump anticipates that the remaining hostages will be released from Gaza on Monday as part of the initial phase of his 20-point peace plan.

“The big thing is hostages are going to be released. It’s probably, our time, would be probably Monday, and you know, it’s… a terrible situation there,” the president stated late Wednesday during a phone interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity.

Referring to the locations in which Hamas is holding those captured on Oct. 7, 2023, Trump added, “They’re deep, they’re deep in the earth, and they’re being gotten, and a lot of things are happening right now.”

“As we speak, so much is happening to get the hostages freed, and we think they’ll all be coming back on Monday,” he added.

The president announced on Wednesday that a ceasefire had been reached between Israel and Hamas, following both sides’ agreement on “the first Phase” of a peace deal revealed late last month. This agreement represents a significant pause to more than two years of conflict after the militant group’s initial assault that resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli deaths and over 250 hostages being taken.

During his conversation on “Hannity,” Trump mentioned that the hostage deal would include the return of 20 living hostages as well as 28 bodies that Hamas still retains.

The president also engaged in discussions Wednesday evening with families of the hostages, who were in Washington to meet with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The families expressed gratitude and appreciation towards Trump for securing the agreement.

“Thank you very much. You just take care of yourselves,” he told them, on speakerphone with Lutnick. “The hostages will come back. They’re all coming back on Monday.”

The deal comes after Trump intensified diplomatic efforts to halt the war, after Israel carried out strikes against Hamas officials residing in Qatar and without consulting the U.S. The president said he was “very unhappy” with the strike against a major military ally and the primary negotiator in efforts to end the war. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from Trump, agreed to the president’s 20-point plan for ending the war with Hamas. The president relied on a coalition of leaders from Arab, Gulf and Muslim-majority countries to pressure the Palestinian group to also accept the deal. 

Trump, in his interview with Hannity, said he spoke to Netanyahu earlier that night and described the moment as a “beautiful picture” that helps Israel’s public image.

“It’s so good for Israel. I spoke to Bibi Netanyahu just a little while ago. He called. He said, ‘I can’t believe it.’ He said, ‘Everybody’s liking me now’ — meaning him. I said that, ‘More importantly, they’re loving Israel again,’ and they really are,” the president told the Fox News host, using the nickname for the Israeli leader.

He continued, describing the conversation further: “I said, ‘Israel cannot fight the world, Bibi. They can’t fight the world.’ And he understands that very well.”

“So it’s amazing the way it’s all come together, and it’s a beautiful picture. I don’t know if it could ever happen again. It was just a set of circumstances,” Trump said, adding, “So many different things happened that were so amazing. It’s a lot of talent involved, I’ll tell you. But there was a certain degree of luck too. You know, you need luck also. There is such a thing as luck.”

Trump also suggested Wednesday that he may travel to the Middle East over the weekend as negotiations continue.