Overview

• Hamas transferred the last 20 living Israeli hostages to the ICRC for handover to Israel as authorities released about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including roughly 1,700 who returned to Gaza.
• President Donald Trump declared the Gaza war over and, with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey as guarantors, secured a Sharm el-Sheikh declaration backed by around 30 states.
• Only four of the 28 expected deceased hostages were delivered, drawing accusations of a breach from Israeli officials and the Hostage Families Forum.
• Israeli forces remain in parts of Gaza with demolition operations continuing, while core questions on Hamas disarmament, future governance and a possible international security force remain unresolved.
• The EU pledged support for Palestinian Authority reforms and Gaza reconstruction, will restart its Rafah border monitoring mission on Wednesday, and Egypt and Germany plan a Cairo rebuilding conference in November.