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Israel Preparations were made to welcome home the last 20 surviving hostages who were devastated on Monday Gaza And mourn the return of the dead, in the crucial exchange of a decisive armistice after two years of war.
Palestinians were waiting for the release of hundreds of prisoners held by Israel. us President donald trump They were coming to the region with other leaders to discuss the US-proposed settlement and post-war plans. An increase in humanitarian aid was expected to be sent to famine-stricken Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless.
While major questions remain regarding the future Hamas And in Gaza, an exchange of hostages and prisoners marked an important step toward ending the deadliest war between Israel and the militant group.
Surviving hostages were first expected
As anticipation grew, major Israeli TV stations were airing special broadcasts throughout the night ahead of the hostages’ release. People began gathering around a large screen in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square before dawn.
The return of the hostages is a painful chapter for Israel. Since they were captured in the October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war, news broadcasts have marked their days in captivity and Israel Wearing yellow pins and ribbons to show solidarity. Thousands of people have joined their families in weekly demonstrations calling for their release.
As the war progressed, protesters accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging his feet for political purposes, even as he accused Hamas of intransigence. Last week, amid intense international pressure and Israel’s growing isolation, the archenemies agreed to a ceasefire.
With the release of the hostages, the sense of urgency of the war would effectively end for many Israelis.
Israel expects the 20 surviving hostages to be released together on Monday. They will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross and then to the Israeli army, which will take them to the Reim military base to be reunited with families.
It is unlikely that the remains of the 28 other hostages will be returned at the same time. Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for hostages and missing persons, said an international task force would work to locate dead hostages who have not been returned within 72 hours.
A timeline for the release of Palestinian prisoners has not been announced. These include 250 people serving life sentences after being found guilty of attacks on Israelis, as well as 1,700 people 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 terrorists, Palestinians see them as freedom fighters against Israeli occupation. Israel has warned Palestinians in the West Bank against celebrating after the release of the men, 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 visiting Israel for the first time, where the White House program said he would meet with families of hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Vice President J.D. Vance said Trump was likely to meet with the newly freed hostages.
“The war is over,” Trump told reporters as he departed, adding that he thought the armistice would hold.
Trump will continue on to Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s office said he will co-chair a “peace summit” with regional and international leaders on Monday.
Mahmoud al-Habbash, a judge and Abbas adviser, told The Associated Press that internationally recognized Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas would attend. Netanyahu has ruled out any role for Abbas in post-war Gaza, although the US plan leaves the possibility open if his Palestinian Authority reforms go through. Hamas captured Gaza in 2007.
Other key questions remain unresolved in the ceasefire agreement, including the future governance of Gaza and who will pay for the billion-dollar reconstruction process. Israel wants to ensure that a weakened Hamas gives up its arms and Netanyahu has warned that Israel may do this “the hard way.” Hamas has refused to disarm and wants to ensure Israel pulls its troops out of Gaza completely.
Israeli forces have withdrawn from Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Yunis and other areas. Troops are present in much of the southern city of Rafah, towns in Gaza’s far north and a wide strip of Gaza’s border with Israel.
Under the US plan, an international body would rule Gaza, overseeing Palestinian technocrats running day-to-day affairs. Hamas has said that the government of Gaza should be worked out among the 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 those areas as soon as those forces were deployed. About 200 US troops are now in Israel to monitor the ceasefire.
The plan also mentions the possibility of a future Palestinian state, another non-starter for Netanyahu.
‘Most of Gaza is barren land’
The United Nations has said Israel has so far cleared 190,000 metric tons of aid for entry into Gaza, which was besieged after Israel ended a previous ceasefire in March.
The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza said the volume of incoming aid was expected to increase on Sunday to about 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement.
“Most of Gaza is barren land,” U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the AP on Sunday. He said the United Nations has plans for the next two months to restore basic medical and other services, bring in thousands of tons of food and fuel and clear debris.
two years of war
The war began when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage.
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ensuing offensive, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says about half of the dead were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimates of wartime casualties.
The death toll will rise as bodies are pulled from the debris already inaccessible due to the fighting.
The war has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its 2 million residents. It has also sparked other conflicts in the region, sparking protests around the world and allegations of genocide, which Israel denies.
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Federman reported from Truro, Massachusetts. Associated Press writers Bassem Maroue in Beirut and Jalal Bawatel in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war