Israel is prepared to welcome home the final 20 hostages in the crucial exchange of the historic ceasefire on Monday following two years of the Gaza war. The first phase of the ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States will also include the release of almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and hostages in Israel.
US President Donald Trump is travelling to Israel ahead of the hostage release. As he left, he told reporters, “The war is over,” adding that he believed the ceasefire would last.
In addition to meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the relatives of hostages, Trump will address Knesset, the Israeli parliament on Monday.
Later in the day, Trump will head to Egypt, where he will co-chair a peace summit with regional and global leaders from over 20 nations to discuss the future of Gaza, according to President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s office.
Meanwhile, the exchange of hostages and prisoners was a significant step towards putting an end to the bloodiest conflict between Israel and the militant group, even though there are still many unanswered questions regarding the future of Hamas and Gaza.
While Netanyahu accused Hamas of stubbornness, protesters accused him of delaying the war for political reasons. The fierce rivals agreed to the US-brokered ceasefire last week under intense international pressure and growing isolation for Israel.
For many Israelis, the sense of urgency surrounding the war will essentially end with the hostage release.
After being turned over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Israeli military will transport the hostages to the Reim military base so that their families can reunite with them.
Meanwhile, Palestinians were waiting for Israel to free hundreds of its hostages. The Palestinian hostage release date has not yet been announced. They include 1,700, who were taken during the Gaza war and detained without charge, as well as 250 people serving life terms for charges related to assaults against Israelis. They will either be deported back to Gaza or the West Bank or exiled.
Palestinians see the hostages as freedom fighters in comparison to Israel that views them as terrorists. According to a Palestinian official familiar with the preparations and the family of a prisoner, Israel has advised Palestinians in the West Bank not to celebrate when people are freed. They were afraid of retaliation, so they spoke under the condition of anonymity.
In what it thinks is “just the beginning” of delivering vital supplies to the enclave, the United Nations that Israel had approved additional aid shipments, now totalling 190,000 metric tonnes.
According to the Israeli military body in-charge of providing humanitarian aid in Gaza, the number of trucks carrying aid is anticipated to rise to about 600 per day on Sunday, in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the AP on Sunday that “much of Gaza is a wasteland.” For the next two months, he added, the UN has a plan to remove rubble, bring in thousands of tonnes of food and fuel, and restore basic medical and other services in the region.