In a major milestone, Hamas begins releasing final Israeli hostages

TEL AVIV — Hamas on Monday began releasing the final Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza, a major milestone in the efforts to end the devastating two years of war in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas initially handed over seven of the 20 living hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which in turn presented them to the Israeli military, according to a statement by the military. The remaining 13 hostages were expected to be released shortly.

The military is flying the hostages by helicopter from southern Israel to hospitals in the Tel Aviv area. All the hostages are men, mostly in their 20s and 30s.

The hostage handover ignited celebrations in Israel. Tens of thousands gathered in Hostages Square, the plaza in Tel Aviv that has been the site of vigils throughout the war. The crowd roared in jubilation and waved blue-and-white Israeli flags.

Hamas is also required to hand over 28 bodies of dead hostages, though the Palestinian group says it has not been able to locate all of them. In turn, Israel is preparing to hand over nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as it is required to do under the truce announced last week. These exchanges are expected to begin later Monday.

The fast-moving developments came as President Trump headed to Israel. The president pressed hard for the ceasefire deal and is widely credited for getting it to the finish line. Trump is scheduled to meet briefly with family members of the hostages and then address Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem.

Shortly afterward, Trump is set to fly to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where the truce was negotiated last week, to take part in a formal signing ceremony.

On another front, increased aid is beginning to flow into Gaza, where essentials have been in critically short supply throughout the war. Hundreds of trucks with assistance entered southern Gaza from Egypt on Sunday. The territory is in urgent need of food, water, medicine, fuel and tents.

Test for the ceasefire

The exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners is the first major test of the ceasefire and was a leading demand by both the Israelis and Palestinians.

If both sides complete the full exchange as planned, it will help improve the atmosphere for the many tough challenges ahead.

However, many obstacles remain. Israeli troops still hold roughly half of Gaza and there’s no timetable for their full withdrawal.

The ceasefire also calls for Hamas to give up its weapons and play no role in the future governance of Gaza. Hamas has not publicly agreed to this, and Hamas civilian police have already re-emerged on the streets of the territory. There is currently no other Palestinian group in Gaza that is capable of ruling the territory.

The ceasefire calls for a group of Palestinian technocrats to run Gaza on an interim basis, but they have not been named and it is not clear what kind of authority they would have, if any.