...
By Mandy Taheri
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Phase one of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan is nearing an end as Israel and Hamas are preparing to free 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners amid a ceasefire. On the eve ahead of the release, Israelis and Palestinians are celebrating the long-awaited reunion with family members and loved ones.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF), which launched Operation “Returning Home,” estimates the release to happen in mere hours, and Trump is expected to arrive in the country early Monday morning local time.
As Israel strikes are paused, thousands of Palestinians are returning to razed neighborhoods. More aid convoys have started entering Gaza, with relief groups preparing to expand food deliveries in the coming days.
Read More on News
Why It Matters
The hostages have been held since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and took around 250 hostages. Hamas has released 148 hostages over the past two years, eight of whom were dead, according to the Associated Press. Hamas will also return the bodies of deceased hostages, although it is not clear how quickly this will happen.
Since October 2023, Israel's ground and air offensives in Gaza have displaced more than 2 million people and killed more than 67,600 Palestinians, according to the AP.
The proposal marks the most substantial effort yet toward a lasting agreement, after earlier deals yielded only temporary cease-fires. Trump has been applauded by Israelis and Palestinians on the matter, as well as world leaders.
What To Know
Shosh Bedrosian, an Israeli government spokesperson, told the AP Israel expects all of the living hostages to be released together at one time to the Red Cross and transported among six to eight vehicles. CNN reported that hostages would be released at 8 am local time; however, differed from Bedrosian's statement by stating there will be three releases, two of which will happen at 8 a.m. in two locations, and the third will take place at 9 a.m. in a separate location.
Bedrosian said the hostages will either be driven to a military base to reunite with family members or to a hospital, if needed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has released videos and photos of reception rooms for hostages at Sheba Medical Center in the lead up to their release.
Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, said an international task force will begin working to locate any deceased hostages not returned to Israel within 72 hours.
...
Netanyahu addressed Israelis on Sunday night, saying “Citizens of Israel, my brothers and sisters, this is an emotional evening, an evening of tears, an evening of joy. Because tomorrow, children will return to their border.”
However, on Saturday, crowds in Tel Aviv cheered Trump's name during a speech by special envoy, Steve Witkoff, but booed when Netanyahu's name was mentioned. Israeli criticism of Netanyahu has mounted as the war in Gaza dragged on.
Once the hostages are returned, Israel will begin releasing 250 inmates serving life sentences and about 1,700 Gazans held without charge who were taken during the wars, the AP said.
With Israeli military units pulling back, Palestinians are returning to destroyed neighborhoods as much of Gaza is in ruins. Mohamed Samy, a Palestinian who lived in Jabaliya, told the AP: “It was flattened, just like everything else in Jabaliya. It was like the building never even existed in that place. I questioned my sanity.”
...
Aid agencies are ramping up food operations to reach thousands of residents who have had limited aid over the past months, leading the U.N. to declare in August "more than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths."
Aid deliveries, which are approved and controlled by Israel, are expected to increase under the cease-fire. Dozens of trucks entered Gaza on Sunday through the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Sunday, with the country saying it sent 400 aid trucks in.
Following a short visit to Israel, where he is expected to meet with families of the hostages and speak at the Knesset, according to a schedule released by the White House, Trump will head to Egypt to help helm a peace summit.
What People Are Saying
Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, LTG Eyal Zamir, said in a Sunday X post: “The military pressure we applied over the past two years, together with the complementary diplomatic measures, constitute a victory over Hamas. We will continue to act in order to shape a security reality that ensures the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians.”
The World Food Programme said in a Sunday X post: “During two years of war in #Gaza, thousands of pregnant and breastfeeding women have fallen into malnutrition due to food scarcity, limited access to aid, and dwindling resources. WFP is scaling up life-saving nutrition support. The ceasefire opens the way for aid. WFP is ready.”
U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the AP: “Much of Gaza is a wasteland.”
World Central Kitchen wrote in an X post on October 11: "The stoves are lit at WCK’s Hayat Kitchen in Khan Younis! After weeks of hard work from our #ChefsForGaza team, the staff at our newest large-scale kitchen began cooking. We cooked tens of thousands of hot meals in the newest kitchen today, with a plan to scale up production quickly across all of our field kitchens, working towards our goal of 1 million meals per day in Gaza. The meals from Hayat Kitchen will help meet some of the growing need in Khan Younis, where thousands of displaced families are sheltering."
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a Sunday X post: “Israel's great challenge after the phase of returning the hostages will be the destruction of all of Hamas's terror tunnels in Gaza, directly by the IDF and through the international mechanism to be established under the leadership and supervision of the United States. This is the primary significance of implementing the agreed-upon principle of demilitarizing Gaza and neutralizing Hamas of its weapons. I have instructed the IDF to prepare for carrying out the mission.”
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in an October 9 statement about the hostage release and ceasefire: "We have all waited far too long for this moment. Now we must make it truly count.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday: "I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!"
What Happens Next?
The hostages are expected to be released shortly. Trump was seen boarding Air Force One on Sunday evening.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines