Hamas frees living hostages and Israel releases prisoners as Trump visits the region

That’s according to two aid officials, who cited the release of hostages and prisoners as the reason for the halt. Abeer Etefa, spokesperson of the World Food Program, said Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings were closed due to the exchanges.

The closure comes a day after a surge in aid into the Gaza Strip, as stipulated by the ceasefire deal. Nearly 400 trucks entered Sunday into Gaza from Egypt, and humanitarian groups restarted distribution of food.

The Israeli body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza said around 600 trucks will be entering daily soon. All deliveries, including those from Egypt, are first inspected by Israel.

A sprawling warehouse for the United Nations children’s aid organization was operating at “full capacity” on Monday as officials say 1,300 trucks worth of supplies are ready to go into Gaza, with a further 1,000 trucks on the way.

On the outskirts of the Danish capital Copenhagen, the UNICEF warehouse is almost completely automated through a combination of conveyors, robots and a winding monorail. It can produce and ship over 50 different emergency kits that include health, hygiene, and medical supplies, along with winter clothes.

“Our focus is on being able to deliver the supplies directly into children and their families’ hands,” UNICEF senior emergency manager Emma Maspero said. “So we are very much hopeful about the ceasefire and the access to be able to get supplies across the border.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross said 1,809 Palestinian detainees went to Gaza and the West Bank.

It did not say where the remaining 160 Palestinians went, but Israel has said many Palestinians who had been serving life sentences would be exiled.

The ICRC statement said it conducted “pre-release interviews for all” those released.

It said the ICRC also transferred the remains of four hostages to Israel and called for continued implementation of the ceasefire agreement “to allow more families to receive their loved ones for dignified burial.”

“Throughout these release operations, the ICRC was focused on ensuring the transfers were safe and dignified,” the statement said. “Specialized ICRC staff, including doctors, were on hand to provide immediate medical care and attention as needed.”

Since October 2023 as part of ceasefire agreements, the ICRC said it has facilitated the release and transfer of 172 hostages and 3,472 detainees.

The Senate’s top Democrat thanked Trump and administration officials directly for their work to secure the release of hostages through the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

“Today is a wonderful day. Finally, finally, finally, the last living hostages brutally held by Hamas are home, an immense and overwhelming sigh of relief,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Schumer added: “I commend the enormous advocacy of the tireless hostage families, President Trump, his administration, and all who helped make this moment happen.”

Schumer also stressed that the U.S. remains committed to returning the deceased hostages, including Omer Neutra and Itay Chen, who are Schumer’s constituents.

On Monday, Hamas released all 20 living hostages into the custody of the Red Cross, which then brought them to Israel. Two hostages previously thought to be living were confirmed dead: Tamir Nimrodi and Bipin Joshi. Most of the 251 hostages were released in ceasefires or other deals.

Here is a look at some of the 20 hostages released Monday:

Gali Berman & Ziv Berman, 28

The fraternal twins were taken from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, on the border with Gaza, during the Oct. 7 attack. Liran Berman, their older brother, said it’s the longest the two have ever spent apart. In Kfar Aza, the twins lived in apartments across from each other. Gali is more outgoing, while Ziv is more reserved and shy with a sharp sense of humor, their brother said.

Alon Ohel, 24

Alon Ohel, who also has German and Serbian citizenship, was kidnapped at the Nova music festival from a mobile bomb shelter along with Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli who was killed in captivity in August 2024. A talented pianist, his family has placed pianos across Israel and several sites around the world to raise awareness of his plight.

Evyatar David, 24

Evyatar David was taken hostage at the Nova music festival along with his childhood friend, Guy Gilboa-Dalal. In August, Hamas released a video of David, gaunt and pale, who said he was digging his own grave. The condition of the hostages in the videos horrified Israelis and led tens of thousands of protesters to take to the streets and demand a ceasefire deal, in one of the largest turnouts for the weekly hostage protests in months.

▶ Read more about the hostages here.

Murad Barakat, a urologist and the medical director of the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, said the hospital received 14 men released from Israeli prisons on Monday, several of whom were suffering from skin diseases and chronic anemia. Some had scabies or psoriasis, and one man was hooked up to an IV to recover. Another arrived with a large hematoma requiring treatment. All but two were discharged on Monday.

Although groups like Physicians for Human Rights–Israel are occasionally granted access to Palestinian prisoners, independent medical professionals have faced difficulty entering prisons since Israel suspended visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross after Oct. 7, 2023.

The Israeli military says the bodies are being sent for identification at a forensic institute. Hamas still holds the bodies of 24 deceased hostages, Israel says. It’s unclear when the rest would be sent back.

The U.S. president has left Sharm el-Sheikh, the second stop on a whirlwind day that took him to Israel and Egypt to tout the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

Air Force One was wheels up at 9:07 p.m. local time (2:07 p.m. EDT).

In Egypt, the U.S. president made sure to acknowledge fellow leaders in trademark Trump fashion.

Spotting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump nodded to his close ties with the “tough guy” and NATO ally: “He’s always there when I need him.”

Then came, “We have Armenia. Oh! And Azerbaijan,” he said, sounding pleased. Trump often cites the two countries’ U.S.-brokered peace deal as one of the conflicts he has solved.

Seeing Norway’s leader, Trump quipped, “What happened, Norway. What happened?” — a likely reference to not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, which Norway administers.

To Spain’s leader, Trump returned to a favorite grievance: defense spending. “Are you guys working on him with respect to the GDP?” Trump asked other leaders, seemingly referring to Spain’s refusal to sign a NATO plan to boost defense spending to 5% of a country’s GDP.

Mahmoud Fayez, who was detained by Israel in March 2024, said he was relieved when the bus crossed into Gaza.

Fayez, a resident of Gaza City district of Shijaiyah, was detained when the Israeli military raided Shifa Hospital.

“Praise be to God, our Lord, who has honored us with this release and this joy,” he said following his arrival to the southern city of Khan Younis.

“It’s a day of great joy, as if it’s a feast,” said Mohamed Abu Ghebeit who spent 11 months in Israeli detention.

There have been widespread reports of abuse of Palestinian detainees in Israeli military prison camps and civilian prisons, including frequent beatings and lack of medical care and food.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday praised Trump over efforts to promote peace in several parts of the world, saying Pakistan had nominated the U.S. president for a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in helping ease tensions between India and Pakistan.

During his speech at the Gaza ceasefire summit in Egypt, Trump invited Sharif to the podium, where Sharif praised him as “the most genuine and wonderful candidate for the peace prize.”

The mother of a freed Israeli hostage says he was tortured during his captivity and held for long periods alone.

Anat Angrest said her son, Matan, was held for the past four months in a dark tunnel. In recent days ahead of the ceasefire, he was offered more food than usual and “he didn’t understand what was happening.”

“He went through a lot,” Angrest told Israeli Channel 12 of her son.

The Israeli military said Monday that it was escorting into Israel the bodies of four deceased captives who were held by Hamas in Gaza.

The bodies were among 28 held by the militant group and which are expected to returned to Israel as part of the ceasefire deal, although it was not clear when the rest would be sent back.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi says Trump’s Mideast peace proposal represents the “last chance” for peace in the region.

El-Sissi also reiterated his call for a two-state solution, saying the Palestinians have the right to an independent state alongside Israel.

Trump’s plan holds out the possibility of a Palestinian state, but only after a lengthy transition period in Gaza and reform process by the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes Palestinian independence.

In his speech, el-Sissi also also awarded Trump the Order of the Nile, the country’s highest civilian honor.

The U.S. president, addressing more than 30 world leaders at a forum in Egypt, says rebuilding war-torn Gaza will be the “easiest” part.

“Rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part,” the former real estate mogul said, adding that “we know how to build better than anybody in the world.”

Nodding to the ceasefire process, Trump said “I think we’ve done a lot of the hardest part.”

Argentine President Javier Milei welcomed the release of 20 hostages held captive since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, including three Argentine citizens — Ariel and David Cunio and Eitan Horn — and praised the Trump’s diplomatic efforts.

In a statement posted on the Argentine government’s social media accounts, Milei “paid tribute to the courage and resilience of the hostages who survived such an inhumane and prolonged captivity.” He also hailed Trump as “a key architect of this milestone on the path toward peace in the Middle East.”

Argentine officials have not yet provided further details about the conditions of the released nationals or their expected return home.

U.N. officials said Monday that an additional $11 million from an emergency fund has been allocated to support the scale up of humanitarian operations in Gaza ahead of the winter months. Farhan Haq, the deputy U.N. spokesperson, said that this allocation comes after humanitarian officials moved $9 million last week as they prepared to ensure sufficient fuel supplies and life savings would be ready to go into Gaza after the ceasefire took effect.

However, Tom Fletcher, the U.N. humanitarian chief, warned that “without fresh contributions” of funding from member states, “critical aid cannot keep flowing to people who rely on it.”

Meanwhile, the U.N. was able to get Israeli approval over the weekend to bring in additional 20,000 metric tons of aid into Gaza, bringing the shared pipeline of aid to 190,000 metric tons as of Sunday. Haq said that some of those supplies are ready to be moved in while some are already on their way to Palestinians in need.

Palestinians erupted in cheers of joy Monday as Israel released nearly 2,000 prisoners.

Those freed include around 1,700 of the several thousand Palestinians that Israeli troops seized from Gaza during the 2-year war and have held without charge.

Israeli forces detained thousands of Palestinians during the war in raids on shelters and hospitals and at checkpoints, stopping families as they fled their homes amid military operations.

Families often had no idea their relatives had been detained, and it often took months to determine if they were in Israeli custody, if confirmation came at all. Most were held under laws passed in Israel at the start of the war that allowed Palestinians to be detained for months as “unlawful combatants” without judicial review or access to lawyers.

Also among those released were 250 Palestinians sentenced to prison terms, most of them convicted for deadly attacks on Israelis dating back decades as well as others convicted on lesser charges, according to Israel’s Justice Ministry. Of those, Israel exiled 154, sending them to neighboring Egypt, where officials said they will be sent to third countries.

The rest were returning to homes in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.

The releases have powerful resonance on both sides.

For Israelis, they’re deeply painful, since some of those released were convicted over attacks that killed civilians and soldiers. For Palestinians, the issue of prisoners is politically charged. Nearly everyone has a friend or family member who has been jailed by Israel, particularly young men.

While Israel views the prisoners as terrorists, many Palestinians consider them as freedom fighters resisting a decades-long Israeli military occupation. Reports from rights groups detailing conditions while held — including isolation, abuse and illness — have made prisoners prominent symbols of their people’s political struggle.

▶ Read more about the prisoners released here.

Trump was seen chatting briefly with Mahmoud Abbas before the two leaders posed for a photo. Trump tugged at Abbas’ hand and asked him to turn around for the photographers.

The Trump administration barred Abbas from traveling to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly last month.

Trump’s Mideast peace plan envisions a return of Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to running Gaza, but only after an open-ended reform process. The Palestinian Authority currently administers small pockets of territory in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Despite unanswered questions about next steps in Gaza, which has been devastated during the conflict, Trump is determined to seize an opportunity to chase an elusive regional harmony.

U.S. president will call on other world leaders to “put the old feuds and bitter hatreds” aside as he urges momentum for a broader peace in the Middle East.

In excerpts released by the White House, he acknowledges that the ceasefire deal is part of the “first steps” to peace.

“Today, for the first time anyone can remember, we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us—and to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past,” Trump plans to say.

He expressed a similar sense of finality about the war in his speech at the Knesset, which welcomed him as a hero.

“You’ve won,” he told Israeli lawmakers.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were among the leaders who walked, one by one, to pose alongside the American president.

Trump smiled and gave a thumbs-up as photographers snapped away.

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President Donald Trump greets Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 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. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

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French President Emmanuel Macron and President Donald Trump shake hands during the family picture at the Gaza International Peace Summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, Oct.13 2025. (Yoan Valat, Pool photo via AP)

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President Donald Trump and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa pose for a photo in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett, Pool Photo via AP)

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President Donald Trump greets Jordan’s King Abdullah 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. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

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President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, left, shake hands as they pose for a photo in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett, Pool Photo via AP)

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President Donald Trump and Britain’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair pose for a photo in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett, Pool Photo via AP)

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Leaders of the Reform Judaism movement, representing the largest branch of Judaism in the United States, welcomed the hostages’ release in a statement that also expressed empathy with Palestinian civilians.

“We pray that the innocent Palestinian civilians who have suffered mightily from Hamas’ brutality and the crossfire of this deadly war will finally experience safety, consistent flow of vitally needed humanitarian aid, civilian leadership committed to finding a path to peace,” the statement said.

“We pray that courageous leaders will press forward on the path to a Palestinian State as outlined in the American plan. However remote it may feel, a two-state solution in some configuration must remain the worthy, long-term goal for Israelis and Palestinians as they contemplate a future with safety, dignity, and hope for all.”

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s comments come during a meeting with Trump. The leaders are co-chairing a summit on postwar Gaza in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

El-Sissi urged Trump to support a Gaza reconstruction conference Egypt is planning to host next month.

El-Sissi, whose government has served as a key mediator in ceasefire talks, also said Egypt is working to ensure that bodies of hostages in Gaza are found and handed over to Israel, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

As he sat alongside the Egyptian leader, Trump returned to one of his favorite topics to discuss: crime.

During an impromptu bilateral meeting, Trump called el-Sissi “very powerful” and noted that there is “no crime” in Egypt.

“They have very little crime, you know. Because they don’t play games,” Trump said, adding: “Because they don’t play games like we do in the United States, with governors that have no idea what they’re doing.”

Later, Trump again remarked on the crime levels in Egypt and said el-Sissi “puts it out very quickly.”

“Some people think that’s not nice, but I think it’s great because people don’t want to be mugged and smashed, and they don’t want to be stupid people,” Trump said.

Egypt, home to over 115 million people, does face crime, particularly the harassment of women. However, its police use heavy-handed tactics, including torture, human rights activists have said.

Trump’s lead Middle East negotiator predicted a long presence by the U.S. in the region following the ceasefire deal.

“We’re dug in,” said Witkoff, as Trump met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Sharm El-Sheikh. “We’ll be here quite a bit. That’s at the direction of the president.”

Witkoff also praised Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, saying: “Jared is remarkable to work with.”
“The minute we inked the deal, Jared and I were already working on the implementation side,” Witkoff added.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump and his delegation to the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

“From the city of Sharm El Sheikh, where the populations’ will is tied with the world leaders’ determination to ending the war in Gaza. They all carry a single message to mankind: Enough with war … welcome to peace,” he wrote on Facebook Monday.

Egypt said it will also host a conference on early recovery and reconstruction for Gaza in November.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who Trump has suggested would play a key role in governing postwar Gaza, is attending a summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Blair was met by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi upon his arrival to the venue, according to the Egyptian presidency.

Under Trump’s plan for Gaza, Blair would potentially lead a transitional authority that would run the Palestinian enclave. The proposed body would combine international expertise, technocrats, U.N. officials and Palestinian representatives, and would function under a U.N. mandate.

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Worker roll out a red carpet before President Donald Trump exits Air Force One for an arrival ceremony at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Egyptian Air Force jets escort Air Force One with President Donald Trump aboard en route to Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Trump has arrived in Egypt for a summit with world leaders on Gaza.

Air Force One, escorted by Egyptian fighter jets, touched down at Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport. Trump is planning to attend what the White House has billed as a signing ceremony, helping to solidify a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

The flight followed Trump spending hours in Israel, where he met with relatives of hostages and gave a lengthy speech before parliament. Trump has called on Israel and the Arab world to seize on a U.S.-backed ceasefire as a means of promoting a larger peace around the Middle East.

Johnson praised Trump for “putting a lasting peace within reach for a region where we’ve all aspired to that for generations” during a Monday press conference.

“This is a day of profound hope and joy for the entire free world, and a day only possible under the leadership and strength and fortitude of President Donald J. Trump,” he said.

Johnson added that “they’re all talking about it around the world with this historic achievement” and that Trump “has accomplished what others have only talked about or even tried and failed.”

“Time and again, President Trump is demonstrating that America’s strength delivers and ensures peace for freedom-loving people around the world. As we’ve said so many times, it’s the perception of a strong America that really holds the terrorists and tyrants at bay,” Johnson said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a diplomatic initiative to prevent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from attending a summit in Egypt on Monday aimed at cementing the ceasefire in Gaza, according to a Turkish government official.

The official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, said Netanyahu ultimately decided not to participate after Turkey’s effort gained support from several other nations.

Netanyahu’s office announced that he would not attend the summit, citing a Jewish holiday.

The Turkish official declined to confirm media reports claiming Erdogan’s plane circled above the Red Sea as the president threatened to boycott the meeting, and that it only landed once it was clear Netanyahu would not be present.

Trump was welcomed Monday at the Israeli parliament before he spoke for slightly more than an hour.

Russia’s top diplomat on Monday expressed support for the full implementation of the Gaza ceasefire.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said “we very much hope that everything that has been agreed upon will be fulfilled.”

At the same time, he noted the importance to develop a plan for creating a Palestinian state in the future.
Lavrov added that Moscow will be ready to join efforts to support any agreements if those involved ask for its assistance.

It was not immediately clear when the remaining 24 bodies would be sent back to Israel.

The families of the deceased captives have demanded the bodies be returned as part of the current ceasefire deal.

After a lengthy speech to Israel’s parliament, Trump boarded Air Force One for a flight to Egypt, where he will attend a summit with many world leaders on Gaza.

On the tarmac, the president bid farewell to Netanyahu and his wife.

The Israeli prime minister was invited to the summit, but declined because it was too close to the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

Trump then walked to the top of the steps and pumped his fist while he pointed at someone, likely Netanyahu. He said, “Great job, Bibi, great job,” before stepping inside.

Trump’s plane will head to Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport for what the White House has billed as a “Summit for Peace.”

The father of one of the hostages who has spent years in a wheelchair after a car accident and stroke made a promise: when his son was released from captivity in Gaza, he would stand to welcome him home.

On Monday, in footage shown on Israeli media, family members sobbed as they helped Tal Kupershtein stand for a few minutes to hug his son, Bar, after he was released from two years in captivity in Gaza.

Tal Kupershtein also worked with a physical therapist to partially regain his ability to speak, so that he could advocate for his son, he said.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer says that his country is ready to assist in monitoring the ceasefire in Gaza, offering the U.K.’s experience in Northern Ireland to help in the decommissioning of Hamas’ military capability.

Speaking at a summit in Egypt, Starmer said Britain was read to “play its full part” in ensuring that the current ceasefire results in a lasting peace.

“We stand ready in relation to monitoring the ceasefire and decommissioning Hamas capability and weaponry, and that’s drawing on our experience in Northern Ireland and the IRA, which we dealt with in particular in relation to decommissioning,” he said in a joint appearance with the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

A key factor in the peace process that ended decades of conflict in Northern Ireland was the successful decommissioning of weapons held by the Irish Republican Army, a dissident group that sought to end British rule through violence.