Israel announced on Sunday that all remaining living hostages held in Gaza are expected to be freed on Monday, marking a critical step in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The plan, which also includes a large prisoner swap and expanded humanitarian aid deliveries, coincides with U.S. President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit to Israel and Egypt.
The Israeli government confirmed that 20 surviving hostages would be handed over to the Red Cross in a single coordinated exchange. “We are expecting all 20 of our living hostages to be released together at one time,” said government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian, adding that they would travel in several vehicles to a military base for medical checks and reunions with family members.
After the hostages are released, Israel plans to free roughly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, including 250 serving life sentences, in addition to receiving the bodies of 28 hostages believed to be dead. Military officials said a ceremony would be held in Gaza to honour the deceased once their remains are returned.
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Alongside the exchanges, preparations intensified on Gaza’s borders to expand aid deliveries under the terms of the truce. Israel’s agency overseeing humanitarian coordination said the daily entry of aid trucks would rise to around 600 per day beginning Sunday. Egypt also confirmed that 400 aid trucks crossed the Rafah border carrying medical supplies, food, fuel, tents and blankets.
Associated Press footage showed dozens of vehicles moving toward the Kerem Shalom crossing, where Israeli troops were inspecting cargo before it entered Gaza. A spokesperson for the World Food Program, Abeer Etifa, said roads were being cleared and repaired to ensure supplies reached affected areas.
The United Nations reported that roughly 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other aid are ready for dispatch once Israeli authorities approve their entry. The pause in hostilities has allowed first responders to retrieve hundreds of bodies buried under rubble during the war, with Gaza’s Health Ministry confirming 233 remains recovered since the truce began on Friday.
Uncertainty surrounds the future of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.- and Israeli-backed contractor that replaced the U.N. aid operation earlier this year. GHF’s food distribution sites in Rafah and central Gaza were reportedly dismantled after the ceasefire, though the group said operations would resume after the hostage transfer.
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it was ready to contribute to the expanded relief effort, with enough food in its warehouses to support Gaza’s entire population for three months.
President Donald Trump, who helped broker the ceasefire, is due to be in Israel on Sunday or early Monday, to meet hostage families and address the Knesset. He will then travel to Egypt to co-chair a regional peace summit with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and other leaders.
