A Gaza ceasefire was holding for a third day on Sunday, ahead of a proposed hostage-prisoner exchange and a summit aimed at charting a path to peace after two years of war.
US President Donald Trump is among the leaders expected in Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday for the Gaza peace summit co-hosted by his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The following are the latest key developments in the peace process:
– Hostage-prisoner exchange –
The Gaza peace deal hinges on both sides adhering to an agreement to exchange hostages seized from Israel in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Hamas said it would begin releasing Israeli hostages held in Gaza on Monday morning, ahead of a midday (0900 GMT) deadline under the terms of the ceasefire agreement proposed by Trump.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hopes his country could mark a “day of national joy” from Monday night, once all living and deceased hostages are returned.
– Gaza summit –
Trump and Sisi will on Monday chair the Gaza peace summit in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh.
The gathering aims “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability”, the Egyptian president’s office said.
Among those expected to attend are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But there has been no immediate word on whether Netanyahu will attend, while Hamas said it would not take part as it has “acted principally through… Qatar and Egyptian mediators”.
– Ceasefire deal ‘complexities’ –
Hamas has agreed to the initial stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal, which includes the release of 48 Israeli hostages in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 Gazans held by Israel since the war broke out.
“According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning as agreed,” Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP in an interview Saturday.
But senior Hamas official Hossam Badran said the plan’s second phase, which includes the group’s disarmament, “contains many complexities and difficulties”.
– Hamas post-war role –
A Hamas source close to the group’s negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that it would not participate in governing post-war Gaza.
The source, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the Islamist movement has “relinquished control of the Strip”, but stressed it “remains a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric”.
“Hamas agrees to a long-term truce, and for its weapons not to be used at all during this period, except in the event of an Israeli attack on Gaza,” the source said.
Another Hamas official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier told AFP the militant group’s disarmament was “out of the question”.
– Israel vows to destroy tunnels –
Israel’s defence minister said Sunday it plans to eliminate what remains of Hamas’s tunnel network under Gaza once the hostage releases are completed, under an “international mechanism” led by the United States.
The minister, Israel Katz, said he had ordered the military to prepare for the mission, calling the destruction of the tunnels Israel’s “great challenge” after the exchange phase of the ceasefire.
– Israelis rally –
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner attended a massive rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night organised by the hostages’ families and supporters.
Crowds shouted “Thank you Trump” during the gathering.
“We finally feel hope, but we cannot and will not stop now,” said Zairo Shachar Mohr Munder, whose uncle Abraham was abducted during the Hamas attack and his body recovered in August.
– Gazans return to devastated homes –
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured back into a shattered Gaza City on Saturday, a day after the guns fell silent.
Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas’ authority, said more than 500,000 people had returned by evening.
People picked through the rubble of flattened neighbourhoods, with AFP drone footage showing entire blocks reduced to broken concrete and twisted steel.
“I stood before it and cried. All those memories are now just dust,” said Raja Salmi, 52, upon finding her home destroyed in Al-Rimal.
The UN humanitarian office said Israel has agreed to let agencies deliver 170,000 tonnes of aid to Gaza if the ceasefire holds.
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