Israel poised to receive hostages ahead of summit on Gaza’s future
TEL AVIV – Israel is ready to immediately receive hostages released by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, as world leaders prepare to head to Egypt for international peace summit on the future of war-shattered Gaza.
His office said Netanyahu had discussed the matter with the government’s hostage affairs coordinator, Gal Hirsch.
“Israel is prepared and ready to immediately receive all of our hostages,” the statement said.
A 72-hour deadline for the release of hostages under U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan expires Monday at noon .
Hamas sources have indicated that the group plans to hand over all surviving and, if possible, deceased hostages by 6 a.m. on Monday.
It remains unclear whether Netanyahu’s statement implied a release could take place as early as Sunday. Israeli broadcaster N12 reported that the handover was expected overnight into Monday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Hamas had informed Israel through Arab mediators that it had gathered 20 living hostages and was ready to release them. This was said to be the first confirmation from Hamas that 20 of the hostages abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023 , attacks are still alive.
Israeli authorities say 48 hostages, living and dead, remain in Gaza.
The return will be coordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross without a public ceremony or media presence. After meeting relatives and undergoing initial medical checks at the Re’im military camp near the Gaza Strip, the released hostages are expected to be flown to hospitals for further care.
Yehuda Avidan, head of Israeli’s Ministry of Religious Services, said in an interview with Kan radio that there were concerns that Hamas might not be able to hand over all of the remains.
Media reports have cited the massive destruction in the Gaza Strip as a factor that could prevent the bodies from being found.
In exchange for the hostages, Israel is set to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees.
Leaders meet in Egypt to formalize ceasefire
World leaders from more than 20 countries are expected to attend a summit in Egypt’s resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday aimed at formally ending the war in Gaza.
Trump and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi will co-chair the meeting, officially titled the “Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit.”
The event and signing ceremony aim to consolidate the ceasefire and advance long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, according to the Egyptian presidency.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres have confirmed their attendance.
Media reports have suggested additional attendees could include the Turkish president, the prime ministers of Spain and Pakistan, and the king of Bahrain.
The ceasefire, which took effect Friday, is the first step in a broader U.S.-brokered peace plan to end two years of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas. The deal includes the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces to an agreed line within the territory.
Israel vows to destroy Hamas tunnels despite truce
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that Israel would move forward with the destruction of all remaining underground tunnels used by Hamas fighters in Gaza.
“Israel’s great challenge after the phase of returning the hostages will be the destruction of all of Hamas’ terror tunnels in Gaza,” Katz wrote on the social media platform X.
He said the operation would be carried out directly by the Israeli military as well as “through the international mechanism to be established under the leadership and supervision of the United States.”
Katz said he had instructed troops “to prepare for carrying out the mission,” adding that Israel’s goal remained the demilitarization of Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
Following an initial troop withdrawal, Israeli forces still control just over half of the Gaza Strip, according to media reports. Any further pullback is contingent on Hamas agreeing to lay down its weapons.
During the two-year Gaza war, the Israeli military repeatedly reported destroying Hamas tunnels, though the extent of the remaining underground network is unclear. Before the Israeli onslaught, officials said the tunnels stretched for several hundred kilometers, including beneath urban areas.
Palestinians return to shattered homes in northern Gaza
Since the start of the ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have returned to the largely destroyed northern Gaza Strip, where they have been met with scenes of utter devastation.
Many said they were shocked by the scale of the destruction, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble and countless families left homeless.
According to the civil defense service controlled by the Islamist Hamas movement, more than 300,000 people have returned to the north of the coastal enclave since Friday.
Umm Hassan Tafisch said she had come back to Gaza City after a year in the south. “But my house, where I lived for 30 years, is just a heap of stones and twisted metal,” said the 48-year-old.
A wedding photo of her son still hangs on a fragment of wall. “I did not only weep for the house, but for all the years that disappeared in a moment of bombardment,” she said. Yet even amid the ruins, she felt “air in my lungs again.” Despite the destruction, she said the return marked “a new life, because we cannot live far from Gaza.”
Mohammed Abu Auda, 35, said he had returned to his hometown of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. “Before dawn we set out for the north – my wife, four children and many other families,” he said. The streets were full of people walking. “When we reached our home, we saw only ruins. Even the trees I planted were burned.”
His children asked, “Dad, where is our house?” He replied: “Here, this is our home – we will rebuild it.”