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Hamas names Palestinian prisoners to be freed
Hamas has published the names of more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners to be released under the ceasefire deal, news agencies are reporting.
Hamas names 20 Israeli captives to be released
Hamas has published the names of the 20 surviving Israeli hostages to be released on Monday.
Reuters reports the names include: Bar Abraham Kupershtein, Evyatar David, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Segev Kalfon, Avinatan Or, Elkana Bohbot, Maxim Herkin, Nimrod Cohen, Matan Angrest, Matan Zangauker, Eitan Horn, Eitan Abraham Mor, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Omri Miran, Alon Ohel, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Rom Braslavski, Ariel Cunio and David Cunio.
Hamas has published the names of the 20 Israeli living hostages to be released today under the first phase of the ceasefire deal with Israel, news agencies are reporting.
More on this as it comes to hand.
A picture has just arrived over the news wires appearing to show a Red Cross vehicle moving along a road in Gaza before today’s expected release of Israeli hostages.
The information with the picture doesn’t specify exactly where the shot was taken.
Donald Trump has said from Air Force One en route to Israel that the Gaza peace deal “could be the biggest thing I was ever involved in”, Axios is reporting.
The US news outlet said that, when asked what Trump’s message to the Israeli people would be in the speech, the US president said: “Love and peace for eternity.”
Trump said he had watched parts of a Saturday rally for the hostages in Tel Aviv whose speakers included his daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff, the report continued, and had spoken to the three about it afterwards.
It was an incredible rally. It was a great thing. Everybody is thrilled.
The Axios report said Trump sounded enthusiastic about the global leaders’ meeting to be held later on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, aimed at formally ending the Gaza war as the ceasefire enters its fourth day.
He said the range of countries that would be in attendance signalled the world was united around his peace plan.
Trump said he didn’t know why Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t expected to attend, noting that the Egyptian hosts handled the guest list, the report continued.
But Trump said he thought it was good that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas would attend.
Here are some more images from Tel Aviv, showing the crowds in Hostages Square:
AFP is reporting that Israeli president Isaac Herzog will present the country’s highest civilian award to his US counterpart Donald Trump for his role in securing the release of hostages from Gaza and helping to end the war.
“Through his tireless efforts, President Trump has not only helped bring our loved ones home but has also laid the foundations for a new era in the Middle East built on security, cooperation and genuine hope for a peaceful future,” Herzog said in a statement issued by his office.
It will be a great honour for me to present him with the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour.
Herzog said the award would be presented in the “coming months” and that he would inform Trump of his decision when the US president visited Israel on Monday.
Hostage releases set to start in under two hours – reports
The release of hostages held in Gaza is expected to begin at 8am local time, Israeli media is reporting.
The release is set to start from the Netzarim corridor and continue at 10am in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, say the reports, cited by Reuters.
It’s now 6.05am in Gaza and Tel Aviv.
Who are the 20 hostages believed to be still alive in Gaza and expected to be freed on Monday under the US-brokered ceasefire deal?
As Ashifa Kassam has reported, after their release, Israel is to free 250 Palestinians serving long terms in Israeli prisons as well as 1,700 others detained in Gaza during the two-year war.
A further 26 hostages held are presumed dead and the fate of two is unknown. Hamas has indicated that recovering the bodies of the dead may take longer than releasing those who are alive.
Here are details on the captives set to return home today.
Here are some of the latest images we’ve seen from Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm Al-Sheikh ahead of world leaders’ “peace summit” on Gaza.
Who is – and isn’t – attending the Gaza ‘peace summit’ in Egypt?
Donald Trump and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of more than 20 world leaders in Sharm El Sheikh on Monday, after the US president first visits Israel to speak at its parliament and meet families of the hostages.
The summit’s aim is “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East and usher in a new era of regional security and stability”, according to Egypt’s presidency.
The impressive aims of the meeting are matched by a similarly impressive guest list, many of whom have played a vital role in securing the ceasefire and hostage release deal now in place.
The continuing success of the agreement – and how closely the next stages match up to Trump’s 20-point peace plan – are all expected to be up for discussions at Monday’s summit.
But who is going to the Gaza meeting – and, importantly, who’s not? The answers are in our explainer here:
