Overview

• The International Committee of the Red Cross facilitated the transfer of all 20 living hostages to Israeli custody, with returnees undergoing medical checks as the handover proceeded in multiple groups across Gaza.
• Israel began releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees in exchange, including about 250 long-term security prisoners, as buses departed prisons for Gaza and the West Bank.
• President Donald Trump arrived in Israel to meet leaders and families and to address the Knesset before co-chairing a Sharm el-Sheikh summit with more than 20 leaders on implementing next phases of the deal.
• Crowds gathered across Israel, notably in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, to watch live coverage of the releases, with public displays thanking the United States and symbols distributed ahead of Trump’s address.
• Key questions remain unresolved, including Hamas disarmament, the extent of Israeli withdrawals and Gaza’s interim governance, while aid access and monitoring efforts expanded with EU plans to revive the Rafah mission and additional UN relief approved.