The Latest: Living hostages and Palestinian prisoners freed as Trump tours region

Hamas released all 20 of the last living hostages on Monday, the Israeli military said, as part of a breakthrough ceasefire after two years of war between Israel and Hamas in the devastated Gaza Strip.

Buses carrying dozens of freed Palestinian prisoners drove to the West Bank city of Ramallah and the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run Prisoners Office said, as Israel has released more than 1,900 prisoners.

U.S. President Donald Trump is in the region to discuss postwar plans and the U.S.-proposed deal with other leaders. A surge of humanitarian aid was expected into famine-stricken Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless.

While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners marked a key step toward ending the deadliest war ever between Israel and the militant group. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited but declined, with his office saying it was too close to a Jewish holiday.

Here’s the latest:

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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 during the summit, according to excerpts released by the White House.

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.

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-Sisi 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.

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.

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.

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.

— By Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey

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.