ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Hamas on Monday released seven Israeli hostages in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners, as part of the Gaza peace deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, who is also on a one-day tour to the Middle East to cement the agreement.

Hamas handed the hostages over to the Red Cross, which will deliver them to Israeli forces inside Gaza.

The remaining 13 live hostages are expected to be released a few hours later.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect at noon on Friday, three days after the second anniversary of the war in Gaza. Trump’s peace deal also outlines the demilitarization of the Palestinian enclave and excludes Hamas from any future political role in Gaza.

The 2023 conflict, the deadliest in Gaza’s history, began on October 7 when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Of those, 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 who the Israeli military believes are dead.

Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed over 67,000 Palestinians and injured about 170,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Famine has spread across the enclave, and a United Nations commission has accused Israel of committing genocide.