Gaza ceasefire: All 20 Israeli hostages released in swap as Trump addresses Knesset
Hamas prisoners' media office said the first bus carrying Palestinian prisoners had now arrived in Gaza
Highlights
- Seven captives released by Hamas have been handed over to the Israeli army via the Red Cross.
- Red Cross staff have also arrived at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis where preparations are being made for freed Palestinian prisoners to arrive.
- Hamas earlier published the names of the 20 living Israeli captives set to be freed, as well as the nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners set to be released by Israel.
- Hamas' armed wing released a statement saying it is committed to the ceasefire agreement and its timetables.
- President Trump has arrived in Israeli where he is due to address the Knesset before leaving for Egypt.
3:38pm - Trump will hail the dawn of a new Middle East
We are still waiting for Trump to address the Knesset in Israel, but we are now getting some advanced excerpts from his speech.
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3:32pm - First bus carrying Palestinian prisoners arrives in Gaza
Hamas prisoners' media office said the first bus carrying Palestinian prisoners had now arrived in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said the remaining 13 living hostages released by Hamas had crossed the border into Israel.
3:28pm - Berman family: 'We are breathing fresh air again'
"They have returned to the lives taken from them on that cursed Saturday," said the family of Gali and Ziv Berman, two Israeli hostages released on Monday.
"They were separated and cruelly torn apart for the first time in their lives and reunited today," the family said in a statement on WhatsApp.
"After two years, we are breathing fresh air again. Feelings of fear, sadness, and longing were replaced in an instant with happiness we did not know was possible to feel."
3:14pm - Netanyahu will attend the Gaza summit in Egypt
Egypt's presidential spokesperson said Netanyahu would take part in Monday's Gaza summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
"Both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take part in the peace summit to solidify the agreement to end the war in Gaza and reaffirm their commitment to it," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also said Trump and Netanyahu held a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday.
3:08pm - Russian foreign minister says Trump's plan is 'too vague'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Trump's plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict only dealt with Gaza and was not specific enough on Palestinian statehood.
"We have noted that Donald Trump's peace plan only addresses the Gaza Strip. It mentions statehood, but in rather general terms," Lavrov told reporters from Arab countries.
"It's imperative to flesh out these approaches, including defining what will happen in the West Bank."
It was Moscow's clearest statement so far that it does not see the Trump plan as sufficiently detailed and far-reaching - although Lavrov also said Russia hoped all the agreements reached between Israel and Hamas under the plan would be implemented.
2:47pm - The Israeli military says it has received the remaining 13 hostages
That means all 20 living hostages have now been released by Hamas under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
2:14pm - Second set of hostages transferred to Red Cross, official says
The official involved in the operation said the 13 remaining living hostages had been transferred from Hamas' armed wing to the Red Cross in Gaza.
1:45pm - Trump says Hamas received US approval to rearm
Trump has said the US is aware that Hamas is "rearming" in Gaza and claimed the group had been given US approval to do so "for a period of time".
Asked by a reporter on board Air Force One before his arrival in Israel about reports that Hamas was "rearming" and instituting themselves as a Palestinian police force, Trump said the group was attempting to restore order after months of war, reports Al Jazeera.
"They've been open about it and we gave them approval for a period of time," he said. "You have to understand – they've lost probably 60,000 people. That's a lot of retribution," he argued.
According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,000 people, including more than 20,000 children.
Trump also said the US wanted to ensure returning residents could rebuild safely, describing Gaza as "literally demolished" and saying "a lot of bad things can happen" as people return.
The timeline for Hamas's decommissioning of weapons has become one of the main sticking points within the ceasefire deal, with negotiators divided over how and when disarmament should take place.
1:40pm - UN aid chief: Food reaches Gaza and more on the way
Aid workers have started distributing hot meals and bread in north and south Gaza, and deliveries of cooking gas have entered the enclave, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said on Monday.
The "humanitarian scale-up in Gaza is well underway," Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, wrote on X.
Aid groups had secured Israeli approval to send in more aid, bringing the amount in their cleared pipeline to 190,000 metric tons, including food, shelter items, medicine and other supplies, he added.
"This is just beginning," Fletcher said. "As part of our plan for first 60 days of ceasefire, UN and our partners will expand scale and scope of our operations to get life-saving aid and services to people everywhere across Gaza."
"We are determined to deliver. Thank you to everyone involved."
1:33pm - Red Cross buses arrive at Ofer prison
Red Cross buses have arrived at the Israeli prison of Ofer to pick up 108 out of the 250 Palestinian prisoners who will be released to the occupied West Bank.
1:20pm - Trump-led deal in Egypt lacks broad outline for lasting peace: Analyst
President Trump's peace initiative, which is set to be signed in Egypt later today, only achieved a deal for an exchange of captives and prisoners but lacks a broad and clear outline for a lasting peace in the Middle East, according to an analyst.
Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said that while Trump has been framing the ceasefire "as some broad peace agreement", the deal does not go beyond ending the two-year war, reports Al Jazeera.
"It is a ceasefire. We do not have any outline for a broad peace. We don't have any discussion of the occupation of the West Bank. There's no discussion about the Israeli blockade on Gaza or any structural roots of this conflict," Elmasry told Al Jazeera.
Elmasry added that there are "serious problems" in the 20-point plan, pointing out that it is not clear how Israel would withdraw from Gaza.
Elmasry also criticised mainstream Western media's coverage of the ongoing swap of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners, saying there's "almost an exclusive focus" on the Israelis and their families.
"There's no emphasis at all on the Palestinians who were also released. There's a general othering of Palestinians that we find – a kind of dehumanisation and the lack of emphasis on Palestinian humanity."
1:10pm - Israel names 7 released captives
Israel's Foreign Ministry has named the seven captives released so far:
Eitan Abraham Mor, 25
Gali Berman, 28
Ziv Berman, 28
Omri Miran, 48
Alon Ohel, 24
Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24
Matan Angrest, 22
Another 13 living captives will be released later today. The Palestinian Prisoner's Society has also released the names of 1,718 Palestinians who are due to be released from Israeli jails as part of the deal.
1:03pm - The Red Cross is on its way to another meeting point in Gaza, the Israeli military says
They are due to receive more hostages.
12:50pm - Palestinian father celebrates son's long-awaited release from Israeli prison
Yasser Abu Azzoum, a Palestinian in Gaza whose 23-year-old son Mohammed is set to be released from Israeli prison today, says the feeling is "indescribable".
"I'm not able to speak properly because I am overwhelmed with joy," he told Al Jazeera in Khan Younis.
"I was arrested along with my son from the same shelter in 2023. I haven't seen him in two years. My joy today is much greater than it was on the day I was released."
Abu Azzoum said his wife gave birth to another child while his elder son was in prison.
"We will be reunited and will spend the rest of our days in joy," he added.
12:48pm - Qatar, Egypt and Turkey are putting pressure on Hamas to disarm, Germany says
The German foreign ministry said that Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and other Arab states are putting pressure on militant group Hamas in Gaza to disarm.
"All these states don't want Hamas to be active. They want disarmament and in this respect we have a good pressure scenario, because it won't work without pressure," Minister Johann Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio.
12:44pm - Trump has landed in Israel
Live television footage showed Air Force One touching down at Ben Gurion airport.
A red carpet is laid out on the tarmac, with Israeli and American flags fluttering nearby.
12:40pm - Red Cross crews transporting sick Palestinian prisoner from Israeli prison
The Wafa news agency is reporting that Palestinian Red Crescent crews have entered Israel's Ofer Prison to "transport a sick prisoner who is scheduled to be released" today, reports Al Jazeera.
12:37pm - 'For now, let there be joy'
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the release of the hostages in a post on X:
12:30pm - Buses seen outside Israel's Ofer prison
A number of white buses and vehicles with flashing lights have been seen outside Israel's Ofer Military Prison, in the occupied West Bank, where many of the Palestinian prisoners due to be released today are being held, reports Al Jazeera
12:11pm - In pictures: Scenes from Gaza
12:09 - The hostages have been handed over to the Israeli military
A military source said the Red Cross had now transferred the Israeli hostages.
The Israeli military said the hostages were on their way to Israeli territory, where they would undergo a medical evaluation.
12:07pm - Nepali student not included in today's hostage release list
Nepal's ambassador to Israel has told the BBC that Israeli authorities have said there are no signs that Nepali student Bipin Joshi - one of the hostages held by Hamas since October 2023 - has survived.
Dhan Prasad Pandit told BBC Nepali that it's not clear whether Joshi's remains can be retrieved.
Joshi was studying agriculture in Israel under the country's Learn and Earn scheme.
A close relative told the BBC they were informed by Nepali and Israeli officials that Joshi is not in the list of 20 individuals who are alive. He said the family was hoping for a miracle.
12:05pm - Uncertainty looms over Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners
Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from Jordan says 12 Palestinian prisoners set be released back to the occupied West Bank will now be exiled, according to family members who were informed late last night of the change.
"Those who already knew of their sons being exiled tried to leave the occupied West Bank yesterday but were denied by the Israeli authorities," she added. "There are a lot of emotions right now."
Moreover, Odeh said there was a lot of uncertainty about when Israel will release the Palestinian prisoners into Gaza.
12:02pm - Palestinians prepare to welcome prisoners released under deal
The Red Cross is overseeing the logistics of the prisoner exchange, including the transfer of Palestinian detainees to a designated medical point in Khan Younis, set up inside Nasser Hospital specifically for this day, says Al Jazeera.
Doctors and nurses at the site say they are standing by to receive the prisoners, who will undergo medical checks before being reunited with their families.
Thousands of Palestinians have gathered outside the hospital, waiting to welcome the released detainees. Witnesses say the atmosphere is one of anticipation and relief, with families arriving from across Gaza in hopes of seeing their loved ones.
Medical staff say prisoners released in previous exchanges often arrive exhausted, weak and malnourished, after months in detention under harsh conditions. Many are also described as mentally drained from their time in custody.
12:01pm - Tears and applause as loved ones watch release
Well wishers gathered at dawn in the northern town Lavon, home to the hostage Alon Ohel, to watch a livestream of the hostages release.
Community members made bread, clapped, and sang as they waited.
"I'm very very excited and in anticipation," said Ohel's aunt Nirit Kremer Ohel.
He is a piano player and she said his family had not closed his instrument since he left for the Nova music festival on October 7th.
"His piano at home is still waiting, it's open ... His mother decided to leave it open and put some fabric on it so she will not close it, only Alon will when he will be back home," she said.
Tears and applause as loved ones watch release
The crowd clapped and sang while watching live coverage of the hostage releases.
A man blew the traditional Jewish horn the shofar to welcome the news, and another held aloft a celebratory bottle of wine with Ohel's face on the label as they watched.
Some members of the community, almost all wearing t-shirts featuring a picture of Ohel, cried as they watched the news of the hostages being released after more than two years in captivity.
His mother sent a message from the border thanking the community and saying she would soon be with her son, which was greeted by first a hush and then uproarious applause from the crowd.
11:36 am - Palestinian detainees have boarded buses at Israeli prisons
All 1,966 prisoners expected to be released on Monday have now boarded buses, an official involved in the operation said.
Of those, 250 are due to be released to the West Bank, Jerusalem and other countries, while 1,716 are expected to be released at Gaza's Nasser Hospital.
11:28am - The first Israeli hostages have been transferred, an official says
According to the official involved in the operation, seven Israeli hostages were handed to the Red Cross in Gaza by Hamas.
11:25am - Red Cross to carry out transfer of hostages and detainees
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its teams will receive hostages held in Gaza and transfer them to Israeli authorities.
In a separate operation, ICRC teams will transfer Palestinian detainees held in Israeli detention centers to Gaza and the West Bank.
"These operations are highly complex and require meticulous logistical and security planning to minimize risks to all involved," it said in a statement.
The ICRC will also facilitate the transfer of human remains, it added.
Since October 2023, the ICRC has facilitated the release and transfer of 148 hostages and 1,931 detainees, it said.
11:17am - 'We waited for you, we embrace you'
The hostages will be greeted by welcome kits, which include a personal note from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu.
Netanyahu's office posted on X:
"In the name of all the people of Israel, welcome back! We waited for you, we embrace you. Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu," the notes read.
10:57am - Red Cross on its way to meeting point, Israeli military says
Israeli military says the Red Cross is on its way to a meeting point in the northern Gaza strip where several hostages will be transferred into their custody.
They added that they were prepared to receive additional hostages who are expected to be transferred to the Red Cross later on.
