DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — On Monday, Hamas handed over seven hostages to the Red Cross, marking the first release under a recent ceasefire agreement following two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Details about their condition have not been disclosed. According to Hamas, they plan to exchange 20 living hostages for over 1,900 Palestinian detainees currently held by Israel.
When Israeli television announced the hostages were safely with the Red Cross, families and friends erupted in joyous celebration. Across Israel, tens of thousands gathered to watch the transfer on big screens, with a significant gathering in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, Palestinians were hopeful about the release of many prisoners held by Israel. U.S. President Donald Trump was set to arrive in the area, joined by other leaders, to deliberate on the U.S.-proposed peace agreement and plans for after the conflict. There was also an expectation for a significant influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the conflict has left hundreds of thousands homeless.
Despite numerous lingering questions about the future of both Hamas and Gaza, this exchange of hostages and prisoners represents a crucial step toward ending what has been the bloodiest conflict between Israel and the militant group.
Living hostages expected first
In the early hours of Monday, Hamas revealed a list of the 20 hostages scheduled for release under the ceasefire, along with a list of the over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners that Israeli authorities are expected to free.
The hostages’ return caps a painful chapter for Israel. Since they were captured in the October 2023 Hamas attack that ignited the war, newscasts have marked their days in captivity and Israelis have worn yellow pins and ribbons in solidarity. Tens of thousands have joined their families in weekly demonstrations calling for their release.
As the war dragged on, demonstrators accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging his feet for political purposes, even as he accused Hamas of intransigence. Last week, under heavy international pressure and increasing isolation for Israel, the bitter enemies agreed to the ceasefire.
With the hostages’ release, the sense of urgency around the war for many Israelis will be effectively over.
The living hostages will be handed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and then to the Israeli military, which will take them to the Reim military base to be reunited with families.
It is unlikely that the remains of up to 28 other hostages will be returned at the same time. An international task force will work to locate deceased hostages who are not returned within 72 hours, said Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the hostages and the missing.
The timing has not been announced for the release of Palestinian prisoners. They include 250 people serving life sentences for convictions in attacks on Israelis, in addition to 1,700 seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge. They will be returned to the West Bank or Gaza or sent into exile.
While Israel considers the prisoners to be terrorists, Palestinians view them as freedom fighters against Israeli occupation. Israel has warned Palestinians in the West Bank against celebrating after people are released, according to a prisoner’s family and a Palestinian official familiar with the plans. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution.
Trump in Israel and Egypt
Trump was first visiting Israel, where a White House schedule said he will meet with families of the hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Vice President JD Vance said Trump was likely to meet with newly freed hostages.
“The war is over,” Trump asserted to reporters as he departed, adding he thought the ceasefire would hold.
Trump will continue to Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s office said he will co-chair a “peace summit” Monday with regional and international leaders.
Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, will attend, a judge and adviser to Abbas, Mahmoud al-Habbash, told The Associated Press. Netanyahu has rejected any role in postwar Gaza for Abbas, though the U.S. plan leaves the possibility open if his Palestinian Authority undergoes reforms. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.
Other key questions in the ceasefire deal have yet to be resolved, including the future governance of Gaza and who will pay for a billion-dollar reconstruction process. Israel wants to ensure that the weakened Hamas disarms, and Netanyahu has warned Israel could do it “the hard way.” Hamas refuses to disarm and wants to ensure Israel pulls its troops completely out of Gaza.
The Israeli military has withdrawn from much of Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Younis and other areas. Troops remain in most of the southern city of Rafah, towns of Gaza’s far north and the wide strip along Gaza’s border with Israel.
Under the U.S. plan, an international body will govern Gaza, overseeing Palestinian technocrats running day-to-day affairs. Hamas has said Gaza’s government should be worked out among Palestinians.
The plan calls for an Arab-led international security force in Gaza, along with Palestinian police trained by Egypt and Jordan. It said Israeli forces would leave areas as those forces deploy. About 200 U.S. troops are now in Israel to monitor the ceasefire.
The plan also mentions the possibility of a future Palestinian state, another nonstarter for Netanyahu.
‘Much of Gaza is a wasteland’
The United Nations has said Israel so far has approved 190,000 metric tons of aid to enter Gaza, which was besieged after Israel ended the previous ceasefire in March.
The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza said the amount of aid entering was expected to increase Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement.
“Much of Gaza is a wasteland,” U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the AP on Sunday. He said the U.N. has a plan for the next two months to restore basic medical and other services, bring in thousands of tons of food and fuel and remove rubble.
Two years of war
The war began when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.
In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
The toll will grow as bodies are pulled from rubble previously made inaccessible by fighting.
The war has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its 2 million residents. It has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Truro, Massachusetts; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Jalal Bwaitel in Ramallah, West Bank, and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed to this report.
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