TEL AVIV, Israel (NewsNation) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is ready to receive all remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza, ahead of Monday’s planned exchange for Palestinian prisoners under a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
“Israel is prepared and ready to immediately receive all of our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Israeli officials believe about 20 of the hostages out of 48 held by Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza are still alive. All of the living hostages are expected to be released Monday.
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Trump to visit Israel and Egypt
President Donald Trump, who helped broker the ceasefire deal, is expected to arrive in Israel Monday morning. He will meet with families of hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, according to a schedule released by the White House.
Trump will then continue on to Egypt, where the office of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has said he will co-chair a “peace summit” on Monday with attendance by regional and international leaders.
Timing has not yet been announced for the release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel who are to be freed under the deal. They include 250 people serving life sentences in addition to 1,700 people seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge.
Humanitarian aid to increase
Preparations were underway Sunday for a ramp-up of aid entering the war-battered Gaza Strip that many are hoping will signal an end to the devastating 2-year-long war between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli defense body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, said the amount of aid entering the Palestinian territory is expected to increase on Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement.
Egypt said it is sending 400 aid trucks into Gaza Sunday. The trucks will have to be inspected by Israeli forces before being allowed in.
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The World Food Program said it was ready to restore 145 food distribution points. Before Israel sealed off Gaza in March, U.N. agencies provided food at 400 distribution points.
Though the timeline remains unclear, Palestinians will be able to access food at more locations than they could through the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operated four locations after taking over distribution in May.
Some 170,000 metric tons of food aid have been positioned in neighboring countries awaiting Israeli permission.
Gaza residents return home
Palestinians continued to move back to areas vacated by Israeli forces Sunday, although many were returning to homes reduced to rubble.
The pause in fighting allowed first responders and residents to search previously inaccessible areas for bodies buried under rubble. Health officials said more than 100 bodies were recovered and brought to hospitals between Friday and Saturday.
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The war began when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.
In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.
The war has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its 2 million residents. It has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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