Hamas says Israeli hostages to be freed from Gaza before Trump peace summit in Egypt

Hamas volition statesman releasing Israeli hostages held successful Gaza connected Monday (October 13, 2025) morning, a apical authoritative from the Palestinian militant radical told AFP, earlier U.S. President Donald Trump chairs an planetary acme successful Egypt connected his bid program for the region.

As portion of the deal's archetypal phase, Hamas volition escaped the captives, 20 of whom Israel believes are inactive alive, successful speech for astir 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

"According to the signed agreement, the captive speech is acceptable to statesman connected Monday greeting arsenic agreed," Hamas authoritative Osama Hamdan told AFP successful an interrogation connected Saturday (October 11).

Trump bid summit

Mr. Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi volition past seat a acme of much than 20 countries successful the Red Sea edifice of Sharm el-Sheikh connected Monday afternoon, the Egyptian presidency announced.

The gathering volition purpose "to extremity the warfare successful the Gaza Strip, heighten efforts to execute bid and stableness successful the Middle East, and usher successful a caller epoch of determination information and stability", it said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said helium volition attend, arsenic has Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his counterparts from Italy and Spain, Giorgia Miloni and Pedro Sanchez, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Hamas connected disarmament

There was nary contiguous connection connected whether Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu volition beryllium determination portion Hamas said it would not instrumentality portion arsenic it had "acted principally through... Qatari and Egyptian mediators" during talks, Hamas governmental bureau subordinate Hossam Badran said.

Despite the evident breakthrough, mediators inactive person the tricky task of securing a longer-term governmental solution that volition spot Hamas manus successful weapons and measurement speech from governing Gaza.

Mr. Badran said the 2nd signifier of Trump's program "contains galore complexities and difficulties" portion 1 Hamas official, speaking connected information of anonymity, said disarming was "out of the question".

Multinational force

Under the Trump plan, arsenic Israel conducts a phased withdrawal from Gaza's cities, it volition beryllium replaced by a multi-national unit from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, coordinated by a U.S.-led bid centre successful Israel.

On Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) main Admiral Brad Cooper, Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Gaza, wherever hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were again connected the move, returning to their devastated homes.

Mr. Witkoff, Mr. Kushner and Trump's girl Ivanka past went connected to Tel Aviv to be a gathering with the families of the remaining Israeli hostages held successful Gaza, wherever crowds shouted "Thank you Trump".

Einav Zangauker, whose lad Matan is 1 of astir 20 hostages believed to inactive beryllium alive, said: "We volition proceed to outcry and combat until everyone is home."

"We yet consciousness hope, but we cannot and volition not halt now," added Zairo Shachar Mohr Munder, whose uncle Abraham was abducted during the Hamas onslaught and his assemblage recovered successful August.

Hamas has until noon connected Monday to manus implicit 47 remaining hostages -- surviving and dormant -- from the 251 abducted successful the onslaught 2 years ago, which led to the deaths of 1,219 people, astir of them civilians.

The remains of 1 much hostage, held successful Gaza since 2014, are besides expected to beryllium returned.

In exchange, Israel volition merchandise 250 prisoners, including immoderate serving beingness sentences for deadly anti-Israeli attacks, and 1,700 Gazans detained by the subject since the warfare broke out.

The Israeli situation work said Saturday it had moved the 250 nationalist information detainees to 2 prisons up of the handover.

Palestinians returning home

More than 500,000 Palestinians had returned to Gaza City by Saturday (October 11) evening, according to Gaza's civilian defence agency, a rescue work operating nether Hamas authority.

"We walked for hours, and each measurement was filled with fearfulness and anxiousness for my home," Raja Salmi, 52, told AFP.

When she reached the Al-Rimal neighbourhood, she recovered her location utterly destroyed.

"I stood earlier it and cried. All those memories are present conscionable dust," she said.

Drone footage changeable by AFP showed full metropolis blocks reduced to a twisted messiness of factual and alloy reinforcing wire.

The walls and windows of five-storey flat blocks had been torn disconnected and present laic choking the roadsides arsenic disconsolate residents poked done the rubble.

The UN's humanitarian bureau says Israel has allowed agencies to commencement transporting 170,000 tonnes of assistance into Gaza if the ceasefire holds.

Men, women and children navigated streets filled with rubble, searching for homes amid collapsed factual slabs, destroyed vehicles and debris.

Sami Musa, 28, returned unsocial to cheque connected his family's house.

"Thank God... I recovered that our location is inactive standing," Mr. Musa told AFP.

"It felt similar a shade town, not Gaza," Mr. Musa said. "The odor of decease inactive lingers successful the air."

Israel's run successful Gaza has killed astatine slightest 67,682 people, according to the Health Ministry successful the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.

The information does not separate betwixt civilians and combatants but indicates that much than fractional of the dormant are women and children.