US President Donald Trump is prepared to address the Knesset after Hamas freed the 20 remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, a milestone in efforts to end the two-year war in the enclave.
The Israeli military said on Monday that Hamas had released the final 13 living hostages after handing over seven others earlier in the day to the Red Cross at a location in Gaza.
The hostages are due to be exchanged for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
If completed as planned, the exchange, which will also include the return of the bodies of 28 dead hostages, would mark a big — but not conclusive — step towards ending the deadliest chapter in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The exchange is the first stage of a plan put forward this month by Trump following months of failed attempts to end the fighting.
The conflict was triggered by Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack on Israel and has since claimed the lives of nearly 68,000 Palestinians and nearly 2,000 Israelis.
But Israel and Hamas have yet to agree to the second phase of Trump’s plan, which is designed to bring about a permanent end to the fighting.
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The final 13 living Israeli hostages released by Hamas have been handed over to Israeli forces and are now on their way out of Gaza, the Israeli military said.
“13 returning hostages are currently being accompanied by [Israeli military and security] forces on their return to Israel, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment,” the military said in a statement.
“The commanders and soldiers of the [Israeli military] salute and embrace the returning hostages as they make their way home.”
Hamas’s military wing said it was committed to US President Donald Trump’s agreement as long as Israel stuck to the deal.
“The agreement reached is the fruit of the steadfastness of our people and the resilience of their resistance fighters,” the Qassam Brigades said.
“We declare our commitment to the agreement reached and its associated timetables, as long as the occupation [sic] adheres to them.”
But it added that Israel had “failed to recover its prisoners through military pressure, despite its superior intelligence and the surplus power it possesses”.
“Now it has surrendered and recovered its prisoners through an exchange deal, as the resistance promised from the beginning,” the Qassam Brigades said.
