Hamas on Monday freed the last living Israeli hostages under a ceasefire deal as Israel released busloads of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, prompting celebrations and emotional scenes on both sides of the Gaza border. Speaking to Israel’s parliament, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that “the Holy Land is finally at peace” and said it was time to convert battlefield gains into a regionwide settlement.
The Israeli military said all hostages confirmed alive had been transferred out of Gaza by the International Committee of the Red Cross, sparking cheers and tears in Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square.” In Gaza, families massed at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to greet returnees among nearly 2,000 Palestinians due for release as part of the accord.
“The skies are calm, the guns are silent,” Trump told the Knesset before flying to Egypt to chair, alongside President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a summit of more than 20 leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh. After landing, he thanked Sisi for mediating the deal as billboards along the route welcomed delegates to the “land of peace.”
Formidable obstacles remain to converting the ceasefire into lasting peace. Israel is still seeking the remains of 26 hostages believed dead and clarity on two others whose fates are unknown. Hamas said recovering all bodies will take time, citing uncertainty over burial sites, and on Monday indicated it would hand over four; the Israeli military confirmed it had received two coffins and expected two more.
Humanitarian needs are acute. U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher urged a rapid surge of shelter, fuel, food and medicine to stave off famine among hundreds of thousands in Gaza. Governance and security arrangements for the enclave are unsettled, as is the future of Hamas, which rejects Israel’s demand to disarm. A Palestinian security source said Hamas gunmen carried out a post-pullback crackdown in Gaza City, killing 32 members of a rival faction.
The war’s spillover has redrawn regional fault lines, with Israel launching a 12-day campaign against Iran and operations against Tehran-aligned allies including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. From the Knesset podium, Trump even floated the prospect of an Iran-Israel deal: “Wouldn’t it be nice?” he said.
Scenes of relief rippled across Israel, where released hostages waved from vans en route to hospital, and across Palestinian areas, where freed detainees flashed victory signs from bus windows. Israel was to free 1,700 Gaza detainees and 250 prisoners convicted or suspected of security offenses. In Ramallah, newly freed doctor Samer Halabeya embraced his mother: “We hope that everyone gets freed,” he said.