Trump to Host Gaza Peace Summit as Hamas Completes Plans for Hostage Release
Hamas has announced the completion of its preparations to release all remaining living hostages, a move expected to take place today (Monday, Oct. 13), marking a major milestone in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. The release is set to occur just hours before Trump hosts an international peace summit in Egypt.
According to the proposed agreement, once Hamas frees the hostages, Israel will begin releasing approximately 2,000 Palestinian detainees in exchange. However, final negotiations continued on Sunday, as Hamas demanded that seven senior Palestinian figures be included among those freed.
Shosh Bedrosian, spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed that the process “will begin early Monday morning,” adding that Israel expects “all 20 of our living hostages to be released together at one time.” Trump is expected to arrive in Israel shortly after the release, where he will address the Israeli parliament before traveling to Egypt for the summit aimed at ending the two-year Gaza war and fostering long-term Middle East peace.
Bedrosian stated that “Palestinian prisoners will be released once Israel confirms that all hostages have safely crossed into Israel.” During previous truces, the identification of deceased hostages was confirmed through autopsies at Israel’s Abu Kabir Forensic Institute.
Two Hamas sources told AFP that the group insists Israel must release seven key Palestinian leaders, including Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Saadat, Ibrahim Hamed, and Abbas Al-Sayyed. Despite ongoing disagreements, the sources said preparations for handing over all living hostages are complete.
Under the current deal, Hamas will release 47 hostages—both living and deceased—captured during the October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, and sparked Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. The group will also return the remains of a soldier killed in the 2014 Gaza conflict.
Of the 2,000 Palestinians to be released, about 250 are security prisoners convicted of killing Israelis, while the remaining 1,700 were detained during the Gaza war.
Following his visit to Israel, President Trump will join Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to co-chair a summit of over 20 world leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh. The Egyptian presidency stated that the gathering aims “to end the war in Gaza, advance peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security.”
Among the expected attendees are UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Officials have confirmed that neither Israeli nor Hamas representatives will attend the summit.
