US President Donald Trump was in Israel for a lightning visit ahead of a summit in Egypt on Gaza, after the final 20 surviving Israeli hostages returned home following two years in captivity.
Trump, who has declared the war in Gaza “over,” helped broker the ceasefire by proposing a 20-point plan for the territory.
The following are the latest key developments:
Hostage-Prisoner Exchange
The initial stage of the ceasefire deal includes the release of 47 Israeli living and dead hostages taken on October 7, 2023 in exchange for 250 prisoners and 1,700 Gazans held by Israel since the war broke out.
Hamas is also expected to hand over the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict.
Israel confirmed all 20 hostages had returned to the country, with a series of posts on X that read: “Welcome home.”
Israel does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday.
“Our struggle is not over. It will not end until the last hostage is located and returned for proper burial,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
In return, Israel is due to release nearly 2,000 prisoners held in its jails.
In the occupied West Bank, an AFP journalist saw several buses leaving Israel’s Ofer prison, while huge crowds in Ramallah gathered to welcome the prisoners.
Gaza Summit
Trump visited Israel on Monday where he was due to speak at the Knesset, with lawmakers greeting him with a standing ovation and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling him the “greatest friend” Israel has ever had in the White House.
Later in the day, Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-chair a summit of a host of world leaders in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh.
After the Egyptian presidency announced Netanyahu’s expected attendance, the Israeli leader said he was unable to go because the summit coincides with a Jewish holiday.
On Sunday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said a “document ending the war in the Gaza Strip” was expected to be signed during the “historic” gathering.
According to three diplomatic sources, mediators the US, Egypt, Qatar and likely Turkey would sign a guarantee document during the summit.
Hamas will not be represented at the summit, though Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose movement rivals Hamas, will attend.
Among those also expected are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Representation is also expected from the EU and Arab League, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, Indonesia, India and Germany, among others.
Hamas Post-War Role
While the ceasefire and initial releases were feted by Israelis, Palestinians and others around the world, the coming phases in Trump’s plan for Gaza are likely to prove more complicated to implement.
A Hamas source close to the group’s negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that it would not participate in governing post-war Gaza.
The source, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the movement has “relinquished control of the Strip,” but stressed it “remains a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric.”
“Hamas agrees to a long-term truce, and for its weapons not to be used at all during this period, except in the event of an Israeli attack on Gaza,” the source said.
Another Hamas official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier told AFP the militant group’s disarmament was “out of the question.”
Aid Heads for Gaza
More than 200 trucks carrying aid destined for Gaza, where the UN had declared a famine during the war.
After the guns fell silent on Friday, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured back into a shattered Gaza City on Saturday, with many finding their homes and landmarks they knew in ruins.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has reached 67,869.
“The total toll of the Israeli aggression since October 7, 2023, has risen to 67,869 martyrs,” the ministry said, as it continued recovering the bodies of those killed during the war.
