Israel expects the release of hostages taken to Gaza two years ago to begin at dawn on Monday. The Prime Minister's Office there has informed the hostages' relatives that the release could begin between 4 and 6 a.m., although the time is subject to change.
This is the result of Hamas' partial acceptance last week of US President Donald Trump's ultimatum, a 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. Trump ordered Israel to immediately stop bombing the Gaza Strip. Hamas agreed to release all hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and to relinquish control of the Gaza Strip.
According to the plan, Hamas is obliged to hand over all 48 hostages, 20 alive and 28 who are probably already dead, by noon on Monday at the latest. However, the organization has announced in advance that it will not be able to find the bodies of all the deceased hostages by the deadline, and Israel is aware of this. During the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the terrorist organization kidnapped 251 people, some of whom were released in November 2023, while some of them died during the fighting.
Once Israel is certain that it has received all the hostages it was expecting, it will begin releasing some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, 250 of whom were previously sentenced to life imprisonment.
According to the New York Post summary, some of them have been convicted of terrorist acts. For example, Mahmoud Qawasmeh, 45, was accused of financing and organizing a kidnapping operation in which three Israeli teenagers died. Imad Qawasmeh was sentenced to life in prison for directing a suicide bombing in which 16 Israelis died. In addition, several prisoners convicted of murder and bombings are being released.
Israeli media reports say Hamas has offered to bring forward the release to Sunday if Israel releases at least two prominent Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences who it has so far refused to release as part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal. But there is no indication yet that Israel will accept the offer.
US President Donald Trump arrives in Israel on Monday morning, where he will meet with former hostages and their families, address the Knesset, and then travel to Egypt, where he will attend the official signing ceremony of the peace agreement.
Hundreds of aid trucks are expected to line up in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday to enter the area through the Kerem Shalom and Ajja crossings as part of the ceasefire agreement. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed on Sunday that around 170 aid trucks have already entered the Gaza Strip. However, UNRWA vehicles are not yet involved in distributing the aid.
BBC Egyptian sources also confirmed that 400 trucks carrying humanitarian aid left the Rafah crossing at 6am on Sunday to prepare to enter Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Awja crossings. In the first hour, 90 trucks crossed from the Egyptian side to the Kerem Shalom and Awja crossings. This will be the first time since March that humanitarian aid has entered through the Awja crossing, due to the expected large number of aid convoys.
According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, the death toll from the two-year Israeli offensive has risen to 67,806. An additional 170,066 people have been injured. (Times of Israel/BBC)
