Trump declares next stage of Gaza peace talks underway as Israel lashes out over hostage

We’ve seen jubilant celebrations following the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners as Donald Trump’s Gaze ceasefire plan sprung into action.

All 20 living hostages in Gaza have been released by Hamas this morning and in turn almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been handed over by Israel.

It comes after Donald Trump announced last week both Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his plan for peace in Gaza.

Let’s look back at how this momentous occasion unfolded:

Donald Trump will meet Zelensky for a working lunch on Friday, a senior White House official has told Reuters.

The two leaders spoke over the weekend as Zelensky presses Washington for access to more US-made weapons to counter Russian attacks.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was in Egypt with Trump today, posted on X that he would speak to the US president over ‘joint efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine’.

He said: ‘Today is proof that when the international community stands together, peace can be achieved.’

The head of the UN agency for helping Palestinian refugees says it’s time to ‘build a future of peace’ inside Gaza.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general for the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees, called for humanitarian aid to enter the enclave ‘at scale’, in a post on X.

He also said it was time to ‘finally let international journalists to come into Gaza freely to support and pay tribute to the heroic work of Palestinian journalists’.

President Donald Trump, left, shares a moment with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a summit to support ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war, amid a U.S.-brokered prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. President Donald Trump and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani pose for a photo, at a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war

U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speak during a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh

US President Donald Trump speaks with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shake hands as they pose for a photo, at a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war

Ivanka Trump (R), daughter of US President Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner pose during the greetings ceremony before the family picture at the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 13 October 2025

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair during the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit in Egypt

U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands as they pose for a photo, at a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war

US President Donald Trump (center R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (center L) sign documents during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025

Donald Trump, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani all signed a document in Egypt that Trump said would lay the groundwork for Gaza’s future.

However, a copy was not made public.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined an invitation to the summit. His office said the event was too close in date to a Jewish holiday.

The remains of four captives have crossed the border into Israeli territory and are making their way to the National Center for Forensic Medicine, where an identification procedure will be carried out, according to a brief Israeli army update.

The Israeli forces announced earlier that they were taking four coffins with captives’ bodies into the country’s territory, after they were released by Hamas and picked up by Red Cross officials.

Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘Today is a really historic day, so we do need to start there, and real credit to President Trump and the other leaders who got us to this place.

‘But you’re absolutely right. The challenge now is tomorrow and implementation. And therefore yesterday is historic, but what happens tomorrow really matters.

‘And that’s why what I’ve been discussing with leaders all day is what part can we play, and we, the United Kingdom in particular can play a part in monitoring the ceasefire, but also decommissioning the capability of Hamas and their weaponry, drawing on our experience in Northern Ireland.

‘So the question today has already moved to how do we implement, how do we make sure this moves forward, and it’s really important that we keep that focus. We mustn’t have any missteps now.’

The Palestinian group says ‘the liberation of prisoners is a national achievement and a shining milestone in our struggle’.

In a statement on Telegram, Hamas congratulated ‘freed prisoners, their steadfast families, and the masses of our proud Palestinian people on the achievement of their liberation.

‘Our freed prisoners revealed the most horrific forms of psychological and physical torture they were subjected to over two years in a scene that embodies the harshest forms of sadism and fascism in the modern era.’

Trump has just boarded the presidential airplane, Air Force One, to head back to Washington DC.

The US president briefly waved to onlookers but didn’t stop to talk to the press before getting on board.

AFP reports: ‘Far from a high-profile Gaza summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the UK’s foreign ministry quietly brought together Middle East and European officials at an isolated mansion deep in the southern English countryside.

‘The aim of the three-day conference was to start the “crucial planning and coordination efforts for postwar Gaza” which would be Palestinian-led, the UK prime minister’s office said in a statement.

‘“We must be ready to act – to clear rubble, rebuild homes and set up infrastructure, restoring access to education and healthcare,” junior foreign minister Hamish Falconer added in a statement.

‘“We know the scale of the task. We know how urgent it is, and how complex it will be,” he added, highlighting it “will take years and cost billions”.’

A statement by the prison service says that 1,968 Palestinians ‘were transferred from several prisons across the country to the Ofer and Ktziot prisons’ earlier in the day as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

They were released ‘from the Ofer prison to (the West Bank) and East Jerusalem, and from the Ktziot prison to Kerem Shalom,’ it added, referring to one of the crossings into the Gaza Strip.

Four coffins of deceased hostages are on their way to Israel, the Israeli military says.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces says they will be transferred to the National Center of Forensic Medicine ‘for identification procedures’.

The IDF doesn’t name the four being returned, but earlier, Hamas named four hostages whose bodies it said would be released today.

The Israeli military says that before the coffins cross into Israel from Gaza, ‘IDF soldiers will drape the hostages’ coffins with Israeli flags, salute them, and recite a chapter from the Book of Psalms’.

Trump is to be given the Order of the Nile, President Sisi said.

This is ‘the highest state honour” in Egypt, he said, and is awarded ‘to heads of state or to those who render great services to humankind’.

The remains of two more ‘coffins of deceased abductees’ have been received by the Red Cross in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says.

They are now making their way to Israeli forces in Gaza where two other bodies of deceased hostages are located, a joint statement from the IDF and Shin Bet says.

The IDF is set to inspect the four caskets, before draping them in Israeli flags and holding a short ceremony led by a military rabbi.

The remains will then be taken for identification to confirm they belong to slain hostages.

The US President said today ‘is the day that people across the region and around the world have been working, striving, hoping and praying for’.

‘We’ve achieved what everybody said was impossible, at long last, we have peace in the Middle East.

‘Humanitarian aid is now pouring in, including hundreds of truckloads of food, medical equipment and other supplies, much of it paid by people in this room.

‘Civilians are returning to their homes, the hostages are reuniting [with their families],’ Trump said.

He added: ‘It’s so beautiful to see a new and beautiful day is rising. And now the rebuilding begins.

‘Rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part,’ he said. ‘I think we’ve done a lot of the hardest part.’

Trump went on to express his ‘tremendous gratitude to the Arab and Muslim nations who helped make this incredible breakthrough possible’.

Egypt’s president said today’s Gaza agreements ‘opens the door for a new era of peace and security in the Middle East’.

Abdel Fattah al Sisi said that the ‘ending of the war in Gaza should be the end of all wars in the region’.

He said that his country will host a Gaza reconstruction summit.

Sisi added that a two-state solution is ‘the only way to fulfil the aspirations of both Palestinian and Israeli people to end the conflict’.

‘Peace is not made by countries and states, but people who are confident that yesterday’s adversaries are today’s friends,’ he said.

As Sisi introduced Trump to speak, he said: ‘I’d like to greatly appreciate the efforts of President Trump.’

Hamas has handed over two more deceased Israeli hostages to Red Cross in Gaza, officials told Reuters.

Earlier today, Hamas was accused of breaching the Gaza ceasefire agreement after announcing it would only return four of the 28 bodies of the deceased to Israel today.

Two coffins of deceased hostages were also transferred earlier.

The IDF said: ‘Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages.’

After concluding his opening remarks, US President Donald Trump signed a document on the ceasefire deal.

El-Sisi, Erdogan and Sheikh Tamim were also seen signing the document.

No other details were immediately available about the document that was signed.

Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter:

President Trump lauded Turkish President Erdogan during his remarks at the peace summit in Egypt.

‘I don’t know what it is – I like the tough people better than the soft, easy ones. I don’t know what the hell it is. It’s a personality problem, I suspect,’ Trump began.

‘This gentleman from a place called Turkey … He’s a tough cookie, but my friend.’

Trump noted how Erdogan oversees one of the ‘most powerful armies, actually, in the world.’

‘Every time I’ve needed him, he’s been there. I want to thank President Erdogan of Turkey,’ Trump continued.

The signing ceremony in Sharm el-Sheikh is now over following signatures from world leaders.

Trump said he will be doing a speech, adding that he ‘may stay behind with the leaders’ for discussions.

He once again thanked them for the support shown during the negotiations for the ceasefire.

‘Everybody’s happy,’ he said, saying he’s done ‘big deals before’ but ‘this has taken off like a rocket ship’.

Donald Trump has now signed the peace deal.

‘This took 3000 years to get to, can you believe it? And it’s going to hold up,’ he said.

Referencing the world leaders sitting behind him, he added: ‘The people behind me are the greatest leaders, the most powerful leaders, the richest leaders…. that the world has ever seen.’

‘We’re going to sign a document that’s going to spell out a lot rules and regulations and lots of others things. It’s very comprehensive,’ said Trump.

The plan is then signed by the Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al Sisi and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president.

‘This is an incredible day for the world,’ Trump said.

He said the deal is so huge that it will avert a Third World War – which, he said, could have taken place in the Middle East.

Trump added the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ‘is really working out incredibly well’.

Leaders have now gathered around Trump for the Gaza deal signing ceremony.

Donald Trump, who is hosting the ceremony, says the peace deal will ‘spell out rules, regulations’ and is ‘very comprehensive’.

On the return of Israeli bodies from Gaza, Trump says ‘they’re being sorted out’, adding: ‘They’re working out to find out where those bodies are.’

All living Israeli hostages have been taken to Israeli hospitals for treatment after undergoing initial medical assessments.

We can now bring you more images as they were reunited with their loves ones earlier:

Matan Zangauker was reunited with his mother, Einav.

Matan, 25, was taken hostage during the 7 October attacks along with his partner Ilana Gritzewsky from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Ilana was released during the November 2023 ceasefire.

Avinatan Or, 32, was greeted by his parents and his partner Noa Argamani.

The pair were both kidnapped from the Nova music festival and separated, but Argamani was rescued during an Israeli military operation in June 2024.

Yosef-Chaim Ohana, front, meets with family members after being released from Hamas captivity.

The 24-year-old was at the festival with a friend, who has previously said he and Ohana had remained to help people escape the gunfire before running themselves.

Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Monday the greatest day for peace in 50 years as Trump and his team met with Egypt’s president.

‘This is clearly, in my mind, probably one of the most important days for world peace in 50 years,’ Rubio proclaimed.

‘And that’s not an exaggeration!’

Trump immediately shot back: ‘Only 50?’

Rubio then quickly corrected himself: ‘Maybe a hundred!’

The room broke out in laughter.

‘Certainly since the end of WWII, Mr. President,’ Rubio added.

The US President took centre stage on a red carpet as he welcomed world leaders to shake his hand.

French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are seen in images greeting the US president during the world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have also appeared on stage, as has FIFA boss Gianni Infantino.

Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter:

Trump took aim at his former political rival and 2016 presidential opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during his Monday address to Israel’s Knesset.

Clinton, during the 2016 campaign, attacked Trump as a president who would start conflicts.

‘Everyone thought I was going to be brutal,’ Trump recounted. ‘I remember Hillary Clinton during a debate, “Look at him, look at him. He’s going to go to war with everybody!”‘

‘But when you settle eight wars in eight months, that means you don’t like war!’ Trump said.

He likened her warning to ‘just another example of the political scare tactics that failed.’

‘It’s a really significant first step and I really commend Trump and his administration,’ Clinton said on CBS News.

The devastating war in Gaza has left the territory utterly shattered with before-and-after images revealing a landscape almost unrecognisable after months of relentless bombardment.

The conflict, which began after Hamas launched a deadly raid into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage, has plunged Gaza, which is just 41km long and 10km wide into a ‘hell on earth.’

Israel’s subsequent campaign – an intense mix of aerial bombardment and a ground invasion – has destroyed or damaged an estimated 78 percent of Gaza’s 250,000 buildings, according to UN and local reports.

Experts say the devastation has generated 61 million tonnes of debris, with about 15 percent potentially contaminated by asbestos, industrial waste or heavy metals.

Read the full story by Lettice Bromovsky here:

Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter:

President Donald Trump tore into his predecessors and former Democratic rival for their inability to bring stability to the Middle East while addressing the Israeli parliament in a blockbuster speech on Monday.

The Republican was in Israel to address the nation’s main legislative body, the Knesset, and to be on the ground as Hamas turned over Israeli hostages it had held captive since the onset of the war two years ago.

‘All of the countries in the Middle East that could have what we’re doing now, it could have happened a long time ago, but it was strangled and set back almost irretrievably by the administrations of Barack Obama and then Joe Biden,’ Trump said. ‘There was a hatred towards Israel.’

‘Nobody asked Joe Biden to come up and speak, I guarantee you that,’ he added. Trump is just the fourth president to address the Knesset; former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were also given the honor.

‘We had a very weak administration. Worst president in the history of our country by far, and Barack Obama was not far behind, by the way,’ Trump said, referring to Biden.

by Natalie Lisbona in Jerusalem

It was the day Israel and the world had awaited for more than two years – the release of the hostages from Gaza.

But even at this historic moment, Donald Trump could not resist quipping with trademark humour as he spoke to the Knesset.

‘Nice place,’ joked Mr Trump as he took to the podium of Israel’s parliament, before he thanked the Almighty God of ‘Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’.

The President’s landmark address summed up the scale of The Donald’s ambition: nothing less than to kick-start a new dawn in Middle East politics.

Read the full story by Natalie Lisbona here:

Donald Trump has said ‘five or six’ bodies have been found by Hamas as it locates the remains of dead Israelis to release back to their loved ones.

Speaking in Sharm el-Sheikh alongside Egypt’s president, Trump said:

They’re going and looking for bodies. It’s a pretty gruesome task. They know where numbers are. I guess five or six are in now.

They’re looking for bodies. They know the areas. They’re going to be finding quite a few of them.

Under Trump’s peace plan, Hamas given a 72-hour deadline to release all the hostages – alive or dead.

The deadline has now expired and Israel has accused Hamas of failing its commitments with just four bodies being released today.

Hamas has handed over the remains of two deceased hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, an official involved in the operation said on Monday.

Hamas’s armed wing earlier said it would hand over the bodies of four hostages.

In a statement, the IDF said:

According to information provided by the Red Cross, two coffins of deceased hostages have been transferred to their custody and are on their way to IDF (military) and ISA (security agency) forces in the Gaza Strip.

Following this, there will be an additional transfer of another two coffins of deceased hostages.

Donald Trump praised Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s as the two leaders appeared together before an international summit on the Gaza deal.

‘He played a very important role. I appreciate it very much,’ Trump said of Sisi, whom he called as a powerful leader who keeps crime down in his country.

Meanwhile Sisi told Trump that he was the ‘only one’ who could bring peace to the Middle East.

‘I was sure you were the only one, Mr. President, who can end this war… the only one capable of bringing peace to our region,’ Sisi said of Trump in a joint appearance as more than two dozen world leaders waited for them to start a Gaza summit.

Donald Trump has declared the second phase of his plan for peace in Gaza are underway after arriving in Sharm el-Sheikh for a summit with world leaders.

Trump was greeted off Air Force One by Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and was swifty driven to the venue where world leaders are gathering.

Speaking before the summit, Trump declared talks over the second phase of his plan have started.

The first phase has led to the release of 48 Israeli hostages in Gaza, 20 living and 28 dead, as well as the return of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Last month Donald Trump unveiled his 20-point peace plan for Gaza which paved the way for the release of 20 living Israeli hostages earlier today.

Let’s take a look at how Trump’s plan sprung into action:

An advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani has revealed the Iraqi delegation would boycott the Gaze peace summit if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended

‘The Iraqi delegation informed the Egyptian side that it was not prepared to participate in the regional summit if Netanyahu attended,’ presidential adviser Ali al-Mousawi told AFP.

‘Iraq has taken a clear position on this matter and has informed the Egyptians of its rejection, and a number of other delegations have announced their intention to withdraw if Netanyahu participates,’ he said.

He said Cairo had then informed Netanyahu he ‘could not be received, which led to the cancellation of his participation in the conference’.

The claims come after a Turkish diplomatic source said the country also raised objections over Netanyahu’s presence.

This is the moment Donald Trump arrived in Egypt ahead of a Gaza peace summit the world hopes will lead to peace in the Middle East.

The President’s Air Force One landed at Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh where world leaders have gathered to build on the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners earlier today.

Mr Trump was greeted as he stepped off the plane by Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are among the leaders already in the resort ahead of Trump’s arrival.

The Israeli army says the Red Cross is on its way to collect the remains of a number of dead hostages held by Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.

‘According to information received, the Red Cross is on its way to the meeting point in the southern Gaza Strip, where several coffins of deceased hostages will be transferred into their custody,’ the army said in a joint statement with the Shin Bet security agency.

The armed wing of Hamas had said earlier that it would only hand over four bodies out of the 28 that are held in Gaza on Monday.

• Guy Illouz
• Yossi Sharabi
• Bipin Joshi
• Daniel Peretz

Donald Trump has arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh where he will co-chair a summit aimed at delivering peace in Gaza.

The President’s Air Force One plane touched down in the Egyptian resort after leaving Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport earlier this afternoon.

Turkey opposed the presence of Benjamin Netanyahu at Monday’s Gaza summit in Egypt, prompting a last-minute cancellation by the Israeli leader, a Turkish diplomatic source has claimed.

At the initiative of President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan and through Turkey’s diplomatic efforts – with the support of other leaders – Netanyahu did not attend the meeting in Egypt.

Netanyahu earlier confirmed he would accompany Donald Trump to Sharm El-Sheikh before clarifying that he would not be travelling to Egypt.

According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, Netanyahu was unable to join world leaders because the event was too close to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is among more than 20 leaders at the summit aimed at finalising a peace deal in Gaza.

Donald Trump has suggested Tony Blair may be sidelined from his peace plan because he might not be ‘popular’ enough to help run Gaza.

The US president surprised many by naming the former PM as a potential member of his ‘Board of Peace’ to oversee the territory.

But he has now hinted at a change in approach, after Palestinians and Hamas voiced opposition to Sir Tony’s involvement.

The ex-Labour leader remains a controversial figure in the region from his role in the Iraq War. He was also the Middle East envoy for the quartet of powers after leaving No10.

Speaking on Air Force One en route to Israel overnight, Mr Trump said he wanted the Board of Peace up and running quickly.

‘I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody,’ he said.

He added: ‘I want to find out that Tony would be popular with all because I just don’t know that.’

Israel’s defence minister has accused Hamas of a ‘failure to meet commitments’ after the terror group declared just four bodies of hostages will be returned to Israel today.

Hamas has agreed to hand back the bodies of 28 hostages who died while in captivity over the past two years as part of the ceasefire agreement.

Countries including Turkey, Egypt and Qatar have previously agreed to help locate the remains of hostages whose whereabouts are unknown.

Israel Katz, Israeli defence minister, said Hamas’ failure to return all 28 bodies could force a response.

The urgent mission to which we are all committed now is to ensure the return of all the abducted bodies home. Hamas’s announcement about the expected return of 4 bodies today is a failure to meet commitments.

Any delay or deliberate avoidance will be considered a gross violation of the agreement and will be responded to accordingly.

This is the moment released Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal was reunited with his family earlier today after more than two years in Gaza.

Guy was kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova music festival on October 7 2023 while his brother Gal escaped.

See the footage from the Re’im military base below:

This is the heartwarming moment a paralysed father left his wheelchair to hug his son following his release from Gaza earlier today.

Bar Kuperstein, 23, from Holon, was working at the Nova music festival on October 7 when he was kidnapped by terrorists who launched an enormous assault, killing 378 partygoers and taking 44 people into Gaza.

Following his time in captivity, his father Tal, who suffered a cerebral incident during an operation after a car crash prior to October 7, has learnt how to walk and speak again with the help of a physical therapist ahead of his son’s release.

Hamas’s military wing has confirmed the identities of four hostages whose bodies will be released to Israel today.

There are understood to be 28 bodies still in Gaza that are due to be returned to Israel as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Hamas confirms the following will be returned today:

• Guy Illouz
• Yossi Sharabi
• Bipin Joshi
• Daniel Peretz

An Israeli group, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which campaigns for the release of hostages from Gaza said only providing four bodies is a ‘breach of agreement’.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared the ‘extraordinary’ Gaza ceasefire is raising hope Donald Trump could broker an end to the Russian invasion of his country

‘When peace is achieved for one part of the world, it brings more hope for peace in other regions,’ Zelensky said on social media.

If a ceasefire and peace have been achieved for the Middle East, the leadership and determination of global actors can certainly work for us too, in Ukraine.

In his speech to the Knesset, Trump indicated he would next look to resolve conflict in Europe following the Russian invasion three years ago.

For 738 days all they saw of Evyatar David were images of his torture in the bowels of Gaza but today those who love him most finally saw a picture to make them smile.

The talented musician who just went to a festival to dance when he was kidnapped by terrorists was seen on a video call to his parents moments before being freed yesterday.

It sparked a stampede at his best friends’ home in Hod HaSharon, near Tel Aviv, where the Daily Mail was invited to join over 30 of those who know him best to watch his release.

They piled in, desperate to catch the first glimpse of the 24-year-old alive since an image of him being forcibly starved and made to dig his own grave horrified the world in August.

‘There is no way to describe such a moment, it is like nothing before,’ Rinat Israeli, 54, who organised the event at her home, told me.

President Trump spoke with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee before boarding Air Force One at Ben Gurion airport.

Trump landed in Tel Aviv earlier today ahead of a lightning visit to the country on the day Hamas released the 20 remaining living hostages.

The US President admitted ‘I’m late’ as he addressed the Israeli parliament during his visit.

World leaders including Sir Keir Starmer are waiting for Donald Trump in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh ahead of a peace summit on Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have all been pictured at the summit before Trump’s arrival.

Leaders will hope to finalise an agreement aimed at ending the war in Gaza following Mr Trump’s ceasefire agreement.

Joyous Palestinians rushed to embrace freed prisoners as they arrived by bus to the occupied West Bank and Gaza earlier today.

The detainees were released after the Hamas militant group freed the last 20 living hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war in Gaza.

Under the deal, Israel is set to release 250 Palestinians convicted of murder and other serious crimes as well as 1,700 Palestinians detained in Gaza since the war began, 22 Palestinian minors, and the bodies of 360 militants.

Several thousand people gathered inside and around the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, awaiting the arrival of freed prisoners, with some waving Palestinian flags and others holding pictures of their relatives.

Fighting back tears, one woman who asked to be identified as Um Ahmed said she said that despite her joy at the release, she still had “mixed feelings” about the day.

‘I am happy for our sons who are being freed, but we are still in pain for all the those who had been killed by the occupation, and all the destruction that happened to our Gaza,’ she told Reuters by voice note.

Freed prisoners arrived in buses, some of them posing from the windows, flashing V-for-Victory signs. They will undergo medical checks at the facility.

Israel’s leading football clubs have welcomed back the hostages following their release from Gaza today.

Brothers Gali and Ziv Berman both sported Maccabi Tel Aviv jerseys as they returned to Israel after being kept captive by Hamas for 738 days.

Fellow hostage Omri Miran, who spoke to his young daughters for the first time in more than two years, is also a fan of the club.

In a statement, Maccabi Tel Aviv said

Dear Omri, Gali and Ziv, we are so excited that you are coming back to us, we have missed you so much. We are waiting for you at the soccer field.

Meanwhile rivals Maccabi Haifa have been celebrating the return of its supporters Matan Angrest and Guy Gilboa-Dalal.

Donald Trump spoke in Israel’s parliament – the Knesset – for more than hour today after meeting families of hostages released by Hamas to mark the first phase of his historic Gaza peace deal.

In case you missed the speech, here are the key takeaways:

• Donald Trump heralded the ‘the dawn of a new Middle East’ and said Israel could look forward to a ‘golden age’ as he was told the country would rally behind nominating him for a Nobel Peace Prize next year
• Trump declared the ‘long and painful nightmare’ is finally over for both Israelis and Palestinians as he paid tribute to Arab and Muslim countries for their help in reaching a ceasefire agreement
• The President was briefly interrupted by two screaming protesters who called for the recognition of Palestine before they were thrown out of the chamber by security
• Trump called for a peace deal between Israel and Iran after resolving the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and suggested Iran would like one as the country is ‘tired’
• The President joked he would be late for his peace summit in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh after being kept by Knesset including a ‘brilliant but very long’ speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
• He also urged Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to issue a pardon for Netanyahu, who is facing multiple court cases in which he stands accused of corruption

An Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages from Gaza said it had learned Hamas would hand over only four bodies of deceased captives on Monday, calling it a ‘breach of agreement’.

In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said:

The hostage families were shocked and dismayed to learn that only four bodies of deceased hostages will be returned today, out of 28 held by Hamas.

This represents a blatant breach of the agreement by Hamas. We expect Israel’s government and the mediators to take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice.

Donald Trump has concluded his speech in the Knesset after speaking to Israel’s parliament for more than an hour.

The US President said today marked a ‘new dawn in the Middle East’, suggested he wanted to see a peace deal with Iran and called on Benjamin Netanyahu to receive a pardon following corruption charges.

Sky News reported Trump received 22 standing ovations as Israeli MPs largely applauded the speech which was briefly interrupted by two left-wing hecklers calling for the recognition of Palestine.

Donald Trump has called on Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu in his upcoming corruption trial.

Turning to Knesset speaker Amir Ohana and Herzog, Trump says

‘These are two good men right here’ before then turning to Netanyahu and saying ‘I have an idea… why don’t you give him a pardon?’

Admitting his call was not ‘in the speech’, Trump made the suggestion sparking wild celebrations in the Knesset as his supporters loudly chanted ‘Bibi, Bibi’.

Trump later said he didn’t believe asking for a pardon was controversial, telling Netanyahu ‘you know how to win.’

Netanyahu is facing charges of fraud and bribery but denies all wrongdoing.

Donald Trump has joked ‘I’m quite late’ as he plans to travel to Egypt after his address for a summit with world leaders on peace in Gaza.

Despite his own speech nearing an hour long, Trump suggested he has been delayed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘brilliant but very long speech’.

I’m quite late. You’ve kept me quite late between opposition leaders and Bibi’s brilliant but very long speech. I thought I was going to run up here, make a speech and then head to Egypt.

The US President will join world leaders for a peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh and an official signing ceremony of the first phase of his Gaza plan.

Donald Trump says Israel as ‘won all they can’ as he called for a time of ‘peace and prosperity’ across the Middle East.

Addressing Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, he adds:

You can be a little bit nicer because you’re not at war anymore.

Only by embracing the opportunities of this moment can we achieve our goal of ensuring that the horrors of recent years will never happen again.

President Trump made a joke about his daughter’s marriage during his address to Israel’s parliament as the US-brokered ceasefire with Hamas came into effect.

Trump, 79, revealed during his peace speech Monday morning that his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner had accompanied him to Israel.

‘Let me also give a very special thanks to someone who truly loves Israel, in fact loves it so much that my daughter converted,’ the president told the Knesset.

Cameras panned to Kushner who was seen mouthing ‘thank you’ to his father-in-law.

‘I didn’t know this was going to happen,’ Trump continued. ‘And Ivanka is here.’

He was met with a standing ovation as he offered the Israeli parliament a little inside look at the couple’s personal life.

‘Bibi, you do know this was not in the cards for me. She is so happy and he is so happy – at least I think they’re happy. If they’re not we have a big story,’ he joked.

Donald Trump has talked up the possibility of a peace deal between Israel and Iran.

It would be great if we could make a peace deal with them – and I think that’s me.

Would you be happy with that? Wouldn’t it be nice? I think they want to; I think they’re tired.

One of the protesters who interrupted Donald Trump during his address to the Knesset has claimed he was thrown out for calling for the recognition of Palestine

After he was ejected from the chamber Ayman Odeh shared a picture of himself holding a ‘Recognise Palestine’ sign and said:

They removed me from the plenum just because I raised the simplest demand, a demand that the entire international community agrees on:

To recognize a Palestinian state. To recognize this simple reality: There are two peoples here, and neither is going anywhere.

Donald Trump has declared the ‘long and painful nightmare’ is finally over for both Israelis and Palestinians in his speech to the Knesset.

For so many families across this land, it has been years since you have known a single day of true peace. But now, at last—not only for Israelis but also for Palestinians and for many others—the long and painful nightmare is finally over.

President Donald Trump’s speech to the Israeli parliament was interrupted by screaming protesters on Monday morning.

Trump addressed Israel’s Knesset after all the living hostages in Gaza were released as part of the historic peace deal.

During his speech, Arab Knesset members Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif held up a sign that read, ‘genocide.’

They were quickly removed from the room as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized.

‘That was very efficient,’ Trump said after the protesters were escorted out.

Donald Trump called an agreement that brought about a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages held by Hamas a triumph as he thanked mediators from the Arab and Muslim world.

Speaking in the Knesset, Trump said:

Let me also convey my tremendous appreciation for all of the nations of the Arab and Muslim world that came together to press Hamas to set the hostages free and to send them home.

We had a lot of help, we had a lot of help from a lot of people that you wouldn’t suspect, and I want to thank them very much for that. It’s an incredible triumph for Israel and the world to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace.

President Donald Trump trumpeted the dawn of a ‘new Middle East’ during a speech before the Israeli parliament on Monday, just over two years after Hamas militants invaded Israel and sparked a harrowing war in Gaza that wiped out about 67,000 of its population.

‘It will be the golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East,’ Trump told the Knesset.

‘This is not only the end of a war. This is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God.’

Early Monday morning as Trump arrived in Israel, the 20 living Israeli hostages were released to Israeli forces and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were delivered by the busload to the West Bank.

For the first time in two years, Hamas no longer has any Israeli captives. Over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel will also be set free as part of the deal.

Read more by our reporter Jon Michael Raasch here:

Trump’s speech was briefly interrupted in the Knesset as security officials dragged people out of the parliament and snatched banners.

Trump was heckled by two left-wing members of Israel’s parliament before they were intercepted.

Ofer Cassif was bundled out by security after a loud noise and shouts towards Trump and Ayman Odeh, 50, was also removed from the chamber.

The politicians are from the same Hadash alliance political group.

The US president was briefly silent before saying ‘that was efficient’.

Donald Trump has declared today marks the start of an ‘historic dawn of a new Middle East’ in his opening remarks at the Knesset.

The US President said today was not only the end of a war but an end to an ‘age of terror and death’ and the start of a ‘grand concord of lasting humanity’.

After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families. Twenty-eight more precious loved ones are coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil for all of time.

Trump then singled out Benjamin Netanyahu for his leadership, telling the Knesset:

He’s not easy but that’s what makes him great. Thanks Bibi, great job.

Donald Trump will now start his address to the Knesset.

Released Israeli hostage Matan Angrest is seen waving after he arrives on to the helipad of the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

Hostages are being airlifted to Israeli hospitals from the Re’im military base where they were reunited with families after leaving Gaza.

The helicopters flew over Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square where Israelis have been celebrating their release.

Benjamin Netanyahu has conceded Israel has paid a ‘high price’ for its war on Hamas but added the terror group’s attack on October 7 two years ago was a ‘catastrophic mistake’.

Speaking in the Knesset, Netanyahu said:

Our enemies now understand just how powerful and just how determined Israel is. They understand that attacking Israel on October 7 was a catastrophic mistake,” he says, still speaking at the Knesset.

They understand that Israel is strong and that Israel is here to stay.

The Israeli Prime Minister said the return of the hostages more than two years on from the attacks marked a ‘momentous day’.

At the beginning of the war, I promised to bring all the hostages home. Today, with the indispensable help, the determined and focused help, the unremitting help of President Trump, and with the incredible sacrifice and courage of the soldiers of Israel, we are fulfilling that promise.

Sir Keir Starmer has released a statement calling on world leaders to implement Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza in Egypt later today.

Here is the Prime Minister’s statement below:

Benjamin Netanyahu has described Donald Trump as the ‘greatest friend that the State of Israel has ever had in the White House’ as he delivered his address to the Knesset.

No American president has ever done more for the state of Israel, and as I said in Washington, it ain’t even close.

Netanyahu said Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza is ‘pivotal’ to securing peace across the Middle East.

I’m committed to this peace, you are committed to this peace, and together we will achieve this peace.

We can now show you footage of Knesset Speaker Amir Ohani praising Donald Trump as the US President was welcome into Israel’s parliament.

Mr Ohani described Trump as a ‘colussus’ and ‘giant of Jewish history’ before telling the room that the world ‘needs more Trumps’.

Israel will rally behind nominating Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize next year, the Knesset speaker has told parliament.

Trump has repeatedly talked up receiving the honour which was awarded to Venezuelan opposition politician María Corina Machado on Friday.

In less than 9 months, you became one of the most consequential Presidents in history.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana has lavished Donald Trump after welcoming him to the Knesset, describing the American president as a ‘giant of Jewish history’.

In his remarks, Mr Ohana said:

You, President Donald J. Trump, are a colossus who will be enshrined in the pantheon of history. The people of Israel will remember you. we are a nation that remembers.

He later added, ‘the world needs more Trumps.’

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled his visit to Egypt today for a peace summit on Gaza.

According to Israeli broadcaster Kan, Mr Netanyahu decided against accompanying Donald Trump to Sharm el-Sheikh to meet world leaders because the event was too close to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

In a statement, the Israeli prime minister’s office said:

The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his efforts to expand the circle of peace – peace through strength.

An Egyptian presidential spokesperson earlier said both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu were expected to join the summit ‘to solidify the agreement to end the war in Gaza and reaffirm their commitment to it.’

Palestinian men have been pictured flashing the peace sign from inside a bus after being released from the Ofer military prison located between Ramallah and Beitunia in the occupied West Bank.

Buses carrying detainees have now crossed the border in Ramallah after all 20 living hostages were released from Gaza earlier today.

Huge crowds of people gathered to welcome the prisoners, with many chanting ‘Allahu akbar’, or God is greatest, in celebration.

Members of Donald Trump’s cabinet and his daughter Ivanka are among those in the Knesset to watch his address to the Israeli parliament.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secrertary Pete Hegseth are among those in the public gallery.

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have also taken their seats in Jerusalem.

Donald Trump has entered the Knesset and is about to make his address.

The US President received a standing ovation as he took his position in Israel’s parliament next to the speaker.

Donald Trump has met with the families of Israeli hostages ahead of his address at Knesset – Israel’s parliament.

Mr Trump declared the war in Gaza is ‘over’ as he arrived in Israel as 20 people kidnapped by Hamas more than two yeard ago were reunited with loved ones.

The US President is due to address the Knesset shortly.

Donald Trump brokered an invitation to Israeli’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend today’s Gaza peace summit in Egypt.

Mr Trump called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi alongside Netanyahu after landing in Tel Aviv this morning.

A statement released by the Egyptian presidency reads:

It was agreed (Netanyahu) would attend the peace summit in which Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will also participate.

Netanyahu and Trump will travel with Trump to Sharm el-Sheikh where 20 world leaders including Sir Keir Starmer will convene this afternoon.

The summit will aim ‘to end the war in the Gaza Strip and enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East’.

Several buses have left Israel’s Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank, according to the AFP news agency.

Some 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees from Gaza are expected to be released within the next few hours.

The release was agreed in turn for Hamas releasing the 20 surviving Israeli hostages.

Israel’s prison authority had said over the weekend that it was preparing prisoners who were due for release from two prisons, including Ofer, as part of the agreement.

Footage has been released of the moment Israeli hostages were received by the country’s army after being released from Gaza where they were held captive for more than two years.

The family of Israeli hostage Eitan Mor have thanked Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu after they were reunited for the first time in two years.

Eitan was among the first seven hostages to leave Gaza this morning and was reunited with loved ones at the Re’im military base before he is taken to hospital in Israel.

In a statement released on social media, his family thanked Israeli PM Netanyahu for his leadership since the October 7 attacks and Donald Trump for his ‘actions and pressures’ to release those held captive.

Our beloved Eitan, how much we have waited for you, how much we have waited to finally see you after two years. We saw you for the last time today, in Hoshana Rabbah, two years ago, and today we embrace you back into the family.

This picture shows the moment one of the Israeli hostages released today spoke with his young daughters for the first time in more than two years.

Omri Miran was among the first cohort of hostages to leave Gaza this morning.

After he was transferred into the custody of the IDF, he spoke to his daughters Roni, 4, and Alma, 2, on a tablet while at the Re’im base alongside his father Dani and wife Lishay.

The girls are said to be waiting for Omri at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

The picture was released by Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

An Israeli hostage’s father who was paralysed and non-verbal has miraculously learnt how to walk and talk again so that he can hug his son and tell him how much he loves him when he is released by Hamas.

Bar Kuperstein, 23, from Holon, was working at the Nova music festival on October 7 when he was kidnapped by terrorists who launched an enormous assault, killing 378 partygoers and taking 44 people into Gaza.

His family called him as sirens began sounding but hours later found videos and photos of him tied up on the ground by Hamas.

He had been helping those shot and injured by the terrorists rather than escaping himself, other survivors of the attack told his family.

His father Tal Kuperstein, who suffered a cerebral incident during an operation after a car crash prior to October 7, has learnt how to walk and speak again with the help of a physical therapist ahead of his son’s release.

In a touching video, posted on social media, the father can be seen taking short steps while clutching on to a walker in what will be a surprise to his son.

Israeli media is reporting Benjamin Netanyahu will accompany Donald Trump to a peace summit in Egypt later this afternoon.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Netanyahu spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

He is expected to travel with Trump to Sharm el-Sheikh where world leaders including Sir Keir Starmer will convene this afternoon.

The summit will aim ‘to end the war in the Gaza Strip and enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East’.

The IDF has released the identities of the 13 remaining hostages and confirmed no-one living remains captive by Hamas.

Hamas handed over the 13 — named as Elkana Bohbot, Avinatan Or, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Evyatar David, Rom Braslavski, Segev Kalfon, Nimrod Cohen, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Matan Zangauker, Bar Kupershtein, David Cunio, and Ariel Cunio — to the Red Cross in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

The hostages will be escorted out of Gaza by IDF to a military base in Re’im for an initial checkup and to meet their families.

Here are the scenes at Israel’s Ofer prison where thousands of Palestinians will be released as part of the ceasefire agreement.

Israel said it will free prisoners once it has confirmation that all hostages held in Gaza have arrived in the country.

‘Palestinian prisoners will be released once Israel has confirmation that all of our hostages set to be released tomorrow are across the border into Israel,’ Shosh Bedrosian told journalists yesterday.

There were tears and cheers today in Tel Aviv as Israelis reacted to hostages being released from Gaza.

Gathered together at a plaza known as Hostages Square, crowds celebrated wildly as the first seven Israelis were freed by Hamas.

Here is the reaction below to a live broadcast of the moment they saw the release:

Israelis have been pictured wearing red baseball caps declaring ‘Trump The Peace President’ in his honour as he addresses the country’s parliament.

The red caps, synonymous with ‘Make America Great Again’, will be seen as a tribute to Trump as he makes a hero’s visit this morning.

Trump will meet families of the hostages before dashing off to a peace summit in Egypt where he will meet other world leaders including Sir Keir Starmer.

The IDF has confirmed the remaining 13 living hostages have been released to the Red Cross and are heading to Israeli forces in Gaza.

‘According to information provided by the Red Cross, 13 hostages have been transferred into their custody and are on their way to IDF (military) and ISA (security agency) forces in the Gaza Strip,’ the military said in a statement.

They will be assessed at an air base before being taken by helicopter to hospitals in Israel.

Israel’s foreign ministry has declared the first seven hostages are back in Israel ‘surrounded by love’.

The remaining 13 hostages have also been released to the Red Cross and will be transferred to the IDF.

Donald Trump will shortly address Israel’s parliament, known as Knesset, in Jerusalem.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One before he landed in Tel Aviv, the president declared: ‘The war is over.’

‘People are tired of it, it’s been centuries,’ he said. ‘The ceasefire will hold, we’re going to make sure it holds.’

• Watch below as Trump signs a book ahead of his Knesset address

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will attend the summit on Gaza that will take place in Egypt later Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

The summit, co-chaired by US President Donald Trump and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, will see more than 20 leaders gather to mark the Gaza ceasefire and the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Abbas is a rival of Hamas, whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the war in Gaza. Neither Israel nor Hamas will be represented at the summit.

Donald Trump has arrived at Israel’s parliament, known as Knesset, in Jerusalem.

Trump is expected to deliver an address and meet some of the families of the hostages who have returned to Israel today.

Hamas handed over all 20 surviving Israeli hostages to Red Cross representatives in Gaza on Monday, Israel’s public broadcaster reported.

The group was released in two batches, with a second group of 13 hostages transferred in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, the broadcaster said.

Hamas has now handed over the 20 survivors of those taken in captivity following the October 7 attacks two years ago.

The Israeli military has already taken custody of seven hostages freed by Hamas earlier today.

The seven hostages have now crossed into Israel, and will be transferred to a military base where they will be reunited with their families. They will then be taken by helicopter to Israeli hospitals.

This is the first photo of Gali Berman, one of the first Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas, in Israel.

The ‘broken’ mother of a slain October 7 victim has taken her own life in the second suicide linked to the tragedy in just two days.

Yelena Giler, 56, mother of Slava Giler, who was murdered at the Nova music festival in Israel, died by suicide on Thursday – just two days after the second anniversary of the massacre, Hebrew media reports.

‘That day broke her,’ wrote Slava’s brother, Alex ‘Sasha’ Giler, in a social media post following the tragic death.

Read the full story below

Some 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees from Gaza are expected to be released within the next few hours.

Israeli media has suggested the prisoners are now being prepared to leave Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.

The first hostages released by Hamas have started reconnecting with their loved ones after two years in captivity.

Omri Miran is one of the seven captives who were handed first to the Red Cross and then to the Israeli military this morning.

A Jewish TV news anchor has broken down after receiving confirmation the first Israeli hostages had been released by Hamas.

Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson fought back tears as news broke that the first seven of 20 living Israeli hostages were released on Monday after two years in captivity.

Read the full story below:

Hostage Bar Kuperstein has a huge surprise waiting for him when he comes home to Israel.

His father, who had been paralyzed and nonverbal due to an accident, has learned to walk and speak again over the last two years.

Brothers David and Ariel Cunio are seen video calling their partners from Gaza ahead of their release.

As a reminder, seven captives have already been released with another 13 expected to be freed today.

The US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has praised the UK’s ‘vital’ role in securing the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

I would like to acknowledge the vital role of the United Kingdom in assisting and coordinating efforts that have led us to this historic day in Israel.

In particular, I want to recognize the incredible input and tireless efforts of National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell.

This is the incredible moment an Israeli mother spoke to her son over the phone after he was released by Hamas along with six others following 738 days in hellish captivity.

Einav Zangauker can be seen talking with her son, 25-year-old Matan Zangauker, who is still being held in an undisclosed location in Gaza.

He is one of the first seven Israeli hostages to be handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross after they were abducted on October 7, 2023.

In remarks made while on his way, the US president declared that ‘the war is over,’ citing the ceasefire as proof that the conflict in Gaza has entered a new phase.

Read the full story below:

The Israeli military has said the Red Cross is on its way to a point in southern Gaza to take custody of second group of living hostages.

‘The war is over, OK?’ Trump told reporters traveling with him aboard Air Force One as he travelled to Israel for the release of the hostages.

‘I think people are tired of it,’ he said, emphasizing that he believed the ceasefire would hold because of that.

The Republican president said the chance of peace was enabled by his administration’s support of Israel’s decimation of Iranian proxies, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz has posted on X after the release of the first wave of hostages.

He said:’The State of Israel and the security establishment embrace our first seven hostages returning home, including IDF soldier Matan Angrest.

‘We await all of them with excitement and great love.’

Air Force One carrying President Trump has flown over Hostages Square in Tel Aviv before landing in Israel.

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Tel Aviv to watch the release of the hostages as part of the Israel-Hamas war ceasefire.

The flyover came just after the first seven living hostages arrived in Israel from Gaza.

The Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have been forced to endure horrifying ordeals throughout their 737 days in captivity.

This has included starvation, torture and being forced to dig their own graves.

Read the full story below:

The seven living hostages freed by Hamas have returned to Israel, the country’s military has said.

The group will be transferred to a military base in southern Israel to be reunited with their families. They’ll then be taken by helicopter to Israeli hospitals.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrived at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport in Egypt last night.

There he will meet world leaders for a summit on ending the war in Gaza.

Donald Trump’s administration is watching the footage of the release of the hostages from Air Force One.

The US president is due to touch down in Israel shortly.

Today’s prisoner exchange comes following the signing of a historic ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, that was brokered by Trump.

The first seven Israeli hostages are now in the hands of the IDF, it was confirmed on X just now.

The Israeli defense forces said the freed captives are ‘on their return to Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment’.

It also made a plea to the public to ‘act responsibly and with sensitivity’ after their release.

They are awaiting the release of more hostages, who are set to be handed over to the Red Cross later this morning.

Hamas has released the first group of Israeli hostages after they spent more than two years in hellish captivity.

Seven captives were handed over to the Red Cross this morning, 737 days after they were taken into Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Families and friends of the hostages broke out into wild cheers as Israeli television channels announced that their loved ones were being released.

Read the full story below:

A military source has told Reuters that the first seven Israeli hostages have been handed over by the Red Cross to IDF forces.

Pictures show a Red Cross vehicle driving through Gaza to an Israeli-controlled territory.

The Israeli military is yet to confirm the names of the hostages who have been handed over by Hamas. However, they have been widely reported in Israeli media to be:

• Eitan Mor
• Gali Berman
• Ziv Berman
• Matan Angrest
• Omri Miran
• Alon Ohel
• Guy Gilboa-Dalal

Pictures are coming in showing the huge operation to get the Israeli hostages to safety.

Here, an Israeli military helicopter is on stand-by on the Re’im military base in southern Israeli, waiting to take freed captives to hospital where they will need urgent medical attention.

More images are coming through from Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

A group of masked Palestinian militants armed with rifles can be seen standing guard in the area.

The first images of a Red Cross convoy transporting the first freed hostages through Gaza has been released.

The IDF confirmed earlier this morning that the hostages are on their way to an Israeli-controlled part of Gaza.

There they will be transported to Re’im military base in southern Israel where they will be reunited with their families.

Emotional scenes are coming out of Hostage Square in Tel Aviv as thousands of people wait for Israeli hostages to be released.

They are the latest pictures.

The Israel Defense Forces has just confirmed the handover of the first seven hostages to the Red Cross.

They are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in Gaza, they have confirmed via X.

‘The IDF is prepared to receive additional hostages who are expected to be transferred to the Red Cross later on,’ they said in a post.

This has also been confirmed by Hamas.

Israeli soldiers and medics are on stand-by to take the first freed Israeli hostages to hospital.

Once Hamas have handed them over to the Red Cross, they will be transferred to a part of Gaza which is controlled by the Israeli military.

Then they will be transported to Re’im military base in southern Israel where they will be reunited with their families.

They will be taken to hospitals, with the Israeli air force on hand to immediately airlift any hostages who require urgent medical attention.

Thousands of people are gathered in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv as they nervously await for the hostages to be released after 737 days in captivity.

People cheered and embraced one another as it was announced the first seven Israeli hostages had been handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas.

Others waved flags and signs saying ‘they’re coming home’.

These are the latest scenes.

Palestinian detainees are also being released today during this historic prisoner exchange. An official involved in the operation has told Reuters that all 1,966 prisoners being released by Israel have now boarded buses.

The first seven Israeli hostages are now in the custody of the Red Cross in Gaza, an official involved in the operation has confirmed to Reuters.

The father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who was kidnapped from the Nova festival, told Israeli news outlet Haaretz that his son ‘was handed over to the Red Cross’.

He continued: ‘In 15 minutes he is expected to be handed over to the IDF, and then he will arrive here’.

Israel says Hamas has handed over the first seven hostages to the Red Cross as part of the Gaza ceasefire.

There was no immediate information on their condition.

Noa Argamani was one of the Israelis kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the October 7, 2023 atrocities.

She became one of the most high profile faces of the tragedy after a picture emerged of her being captured by Hamas operatives.

Argamani was taken alongside her boyfriend, Avinatan Or.

She was rescued by IDF soldiers on June 8, 2024.

Or’s name was included on the list of hostages who will be freed today.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s office said he will award U.S. President Donald Trump Israel’s highest civilian honor, the ‘Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor,’ for his efforts to bring the hostages home.

He is scheduled to land just after 9am local time.

Hamas has released a list of names of the surviving hostages who will soon return home to their families.

• Bar Kupershtein
• Evyatar David
• Yosef-Chaim Ohana
• Segev Kalfon
• Avinatan Or
• Elkana Bohbot
• Maxim Herkin
• Nimrod Cohen
• Matan Zangauker
• David Cunio
• Eitan Horn
• Matan Angrest
• Eitan Mor
• Gali Berman
• Ziv Berman
• Omri Miran
• Alon Ohel
• Guy Gilboa-Dalal
• Rom Braslabski
• Ariel Kon