Hamas must free 48 Israeli captives (20 alive) by Monday noon local time under the Thursday ceasefire pact, enabling family reunions amid Tel Aviv celebrations.
Israeli withdrawal from northern Gaza allows 500,000 Palestinians to return home, while aid surges with 500 trucks entering, though famine risks persist for 500,000 residents.
President Trump visits Israel Monday before leading a 20-nation peace conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to forge a war-ending deal, hailed as a diplomatic masterstroke.
Hamas has pledged to release all 48 remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Monday morning, just hours before U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a high-stakes peace summit in Egypt. The announcement, tied to a newly inked ceasefire deal, marks the first major breakthrough in the two-year conflict that erupted from Hamas's devastating October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
The deal, brokered under intense US mediation and announced last Thursday, requires Hamas to hand over the captives—20 of whom are believed to be alive—within 72 hours, on Monday. Israeli families, many gathered at a massive rally in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, erupted in chants of "Thank you, Trump!" as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff declared the hostages "are coming home," crediting the president for orchestrating the agreement. Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner joined the crowd, where banners called for a Nobel Peace Prize for the US leader.
The ceasefire's immediate impacts are already rippling through Gaza. Israeli forces have pulled back from northern areas, allowing an estimated 500,000 Palestinians to return to their shattered homes amid scenes of heartbreak and tentative relief. Residents like lawyer Mosa Aldous described sifting through rubble in Gaza City, while aid convoys—up to 500 trucks on Thursday alone—begin to alleviate a humanitarian crisis that has left a quarter of Gaza's population on the brink of famine, according to UN reports.
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