A woman takes a picture of messages displayed at “Hostages Square”, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 12, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
After two years and six days, the last of the remaining Israeli hostages taken captive during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks are coming home.
Israel was due to begin receiving the remaining hostages released from Hamas custody early Monday morning Israeli time, hours before a Gaza peace plan was due to expire — and world leaders, including President Donald Trump, were set to meet in Egypt for an international summit charting the path forward for war-torn Gaza.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his country was ready to bring back the remaining hostages, living and dead, who had been held by Hamas terrorists for more than 730 days. His office said Netanyahu had discussed the matter with the government’s hostage affairs coordinator, Gal Hirsch.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Hamas had informed Israel through Arab mediators that it had gathered 20 living hostages and was ready to release them. This was said to be the first confirmation from Hamas that 20 of the hostages abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks were still alive.
Israeli authorities say 48 hostages, living and dead, were still in Gaza Sunday.
The return was said to be coordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross without a public ceremony or media presence. After meeting relatives and undergoing initial medical checks at the Re’im military camp near the Gaza Strip, the released hostages are expected to be flown to hospitals for further care.
Yehuda Avidan, the head of Israel’s Ministry of Religious Services, said in an interview with public broadcaster Kan radio that there were concerns that Hamas might not be able to hand over all of the remains.
Media reports have cited the massive destruction in the Gaza Strip as a factor that could prevent the bodies from being found.
In exchange for the hostages, Israel is set to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees.
Summit over Gaza’s future
World leaders from more than 20 countries are expected to attend a summit in Egypt’s resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday aimed at formally ending the war in Gaza.
Trump and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi will co-chair the meeting, officially titled the “Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit.”
The event and signing ceremony aim to consolidate the ceasefire and advance long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, according to the Egyptian presidency.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and UN Secretary General António Guterres have confirmed their attendance.
Media reports have suggested additional attendees could include the Turkish president, the prime ministers of Spain and Pakistan, and the king of Bahrain.
The ceasefire, which took effect Friday, is the first step in a broader US-brokered peace plan to end two years of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas. The deal includes the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces to an agreed line within the territory.
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that Israel would move forward with the destruction of all remaining underground tunnels used by Hamas fighters in Gaza.
He said the operation would be carried out directly by the Israeli military as well as “through the international mechanism to be established under the leadership and supervision of the United States.”
Katz said he had instructed troops “to prepare for carrying out the mission,” adding that Israel’s goal remained the demilitarization of Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
Following an initial troop withdrawal, Israeli forces still control just over half of the Gaza Strip, according to media reports. Any further pullback is contingent on Hamas agreeing to lay down its weapons.
During the two-year Gaza war, the Israeli military repeatedly reported destroying Hamas tunnels, though the extent of the remaining underground network is unclear. Before the Israeli onslaught, officials said the tunnels stretched for several hundred kilometres, including beneath urban areas.
Since the start of the ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have returned to the largely destroyed northern Gaza Strip, where they have been met with scenes of utter devastation.
Many said they were shocked by the scale of the destruction, with entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble and countless families left homeless.
According to the civil defence service controlled by the Islamist Hamas movement, more than 300,000 people have returned to the north of the coastal enclave since Friday.
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