The Red Cross announced on Monday that it had launched an operation in the Gaza Strip to retrieve the first group of 20 surviving Israeli hostages held by Hamas, marking the initial stage of a ceasefire agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the Gaza conflict.
Under the agreement, Israel was set to release almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners from its jails later on Monday. The handover of 28 other Israeli hostages — 26 dead and two whose fate is unknown – is expected to follow.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was expected to drive the hostages to Israeli security forces, who would take them into Israel, where they would be reunited with family and flown by helicopter to hospitals in central Israel.
Red Cross Convoy Arrives At Hostage Collection Point
An official involved in the operation said the ICRC convoy had arrived at the first hostage collection point in Gaza.
In Israel, people waving Israeli flags gathered near Reim, a military camp near Gaza, where hostages will be brought and then taken to hospitals.
Hundreds of people gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, cheering and waving Israeli flags and holding up posters of the hostages.
About a dozen or so masked gunmen dressed in black, apparently members of Hamas’ armed wing, arrived at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, media footage showed, gathering at one of the locations where some hostages could be handed over to the Red Cross or freed Palestinian prisoners may arrive.
They lined up next to several ambulances and near an area where chairs had been lined up, in the sandy area, for a reception.
The truce and the exchange of both hostages and prisoners follow two years of war that evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon, while deepening Israel’s international isolation and reshaping the Middle East.
“The war is over,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew from Washington to Israel on Sunday. Asked about prospects for the region, he said: “I think it’s going to normalise.”
Trump is set for a hero’s welcome when he addresses Israel’s parliament later on Monday. He will be awarded Israel’s highest civilian honour later this year, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said.
Global Commitments
The conflict was sparked by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people in Israel with 251 taken hostage. Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults have since devastated Gaza, killing more than 67,000 Palestinians, the enclave’s health officials say.
Progress towards a lasting peace now hinges on global commitments that may be taken up by a summit later on Monday of more than 20 world leaders led by Trump in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort.
Much could still go wrong. Further steps in Trump’s 20-point plan have yet to be agreed. Those include how the demolished Gaza Strip is to be ruled when fighting ends, and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has rejected Israel’s demands it disarm.
(With inputs from Reuters)
