Trump says Gaza war over, proclaims 'historic dawn of a new Middle East' under US-mediated deal

Hamas freed the last 20 surviving Israeli hostages on Monday under a US-brokered ceasefire deal, a big step towards ending two years of shattering war in Gaza as President Donald Trump proclaimed the "historic dawn of a new Middle East."

The Israeli military said it had received all hostages confirmed to be alive after their transfer from Gaza by the Red Cross, prompting cheering, hugging and weeping among thousands waiting at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv.

Buses carrying Palestinians released from Israeli prisons as part of the accord also arrived in Gaza, an official involved in the operation told Reuters.

A freed Palestinian prisoner is greeted by his family members after being released from an Israeli jail in Ramallah. Reuters

"The skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace," Trump was due to tell the Knesset in a speech before flying on to Egypt for a summit aimed at building conditions for a lasting peace in Gaza.

Released Israeli hostage, Alon Ohel is reunited with his family in Reim. Reuters

However, major obstacles remain even to a lasting resolution of the conflict in Gaza, let alone to the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict or other major schisms running through the long-volatile Middle East.

FOLLOW-UP SUMMIT TO ADDRESS GAZA'S FUTURE

The release of hostages and the freeing of Palestinian detainees form a critical aspect of the first phase of the ceasefire accord concluded last week in the Egyptian resort of Sharm Al Sheikh where Monday's summit will take place.

People react as freed Palestinian prisoners arrive after being released from an Israeli jail in Ramallah. Reuters

Over 20 world leaders will weigh next steps under Trump's 20-point plan aimed at securing a lasting peace after two years of war that began with the Oct.7, 2023 cross-border Hamas attack.

Israeli airstrikes, bombardments and armoured ground assaults have since devastated Gaza, killing more than 67,000 Palestinians, the enclave's health officials say, and laying waste to much of the enclave, causing a humanitarian disaster.

'I HAVE RETURNED, THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL LIVE,' SAYS FREED HOSTAGE

Initial photographs of six of the freed Israeli hostages distributed by the Israeli military showed them standing, some smiling and talking with soldiers who were receiving them.

A freed Palestinian is hugged by a relative after he was released from an Israeli jail in Ramallah. Reuters

As he flew from Gaza on an Israeli helicopter, released hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal wrote on a whiteboard: "I have returned - the people of Israel live," according to a photograph shown on Israeli television.

"I am so excited. I am full of happiness. It's hard to imagine how I feel this moment. I didn't sleep all night," said Viki Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, as she travelled to Reim, an Israeli military camp where the hostages were being transferred.

One of the Palestinian prisoners embraces a boy upon arrival by bus at Ramallah Culture Centre. AFP

In Gaza, about a dozen masked and black-clad gunmen, apparently members of Hamas' armed wing, arrived at Nasser Hospital where a stage and chairs had been laid out to welcome returning Palestinian prisoners.

People watch a helicopter, on the day of hostages-prisoners swap at Rabin Medical Centre-Beilinson Hospital, in Petah Tikva. Reuters

"I hope that these images can be the end to this war. We lost friends and relatives, we lost our houses and our city," said Emad Abu Joudat, 57, a Palestinian father of six from Gaza City as he watched the handover preparations on his phone.

LIKELY PITFALLS AHEAD

The Trump administration mediated the agreement along with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, with the next phase calling for an international body - a "Board of Peace" - led by Trump.

However, much could still go wrong: Further steps over which previous truce efforts stumbled have yet to be agreed. Those include how the densely populated coastal territory will be governed once fighting ends, and the ultimate fate of Hamas.

A freed Palestinian prisoner is greeted after he was released from an Israeli jail in Ramallah. Reuters

The group's appearance on Monday with fighters gathered at Nasser Hospital underscored the likely difficulty of assuaging Israeli concerns about the Islamist group's continued hold over Gaza, where it has ruled since 2007.

As he entered the Israeli Knesset (parliament), Trump said Hamas would comply with a provision under his plan for it to disarm.

A crowd gathers around a bus carrying Palestinian prisoners who were released from an Israeli prison as it arrives to Ramallah. AP

Further sticking points may include Israel's own continued withdrawal from the Gaza Strip beyond the lines to which it pulled back in recent days, and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state, something rejected by many Israelis.

Trump will become only the fourth US president to address the Knesset, following Jimmy Carter in 1979, Bill Clinton in 1994 and George W. Bush in 2008.

SEA OF RUBBLE

Bodies of some of the 26 confirmed dead hostages, and another two whose fate was unknown, will also be released on Monday. A committee has been established to locate some bodies likely lost in the wreckage and disorder of Gaza.

People react as they watch a live broadcast of Israeli hostages released from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv. AP

Dozens of buses carrying some of the nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees being freed from Israeli prisons as part of the deal arrived in Gaza.

Most were detainees taken by Israeli forces during the war in Gaza but the group included 250 prisoners convicted of involvement in deadly attacks or held under suspicion of such security offences.

Two years of war have reduced Gaza to a sea of rubble, with nearly all its 2.2 million people homeless.

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said on X that Israel had approved the delivery of more emergency supplies and the main UN aid agency working in Gaza, UNRWA, urged Israel to let it work unhindered in the territory.

Reuters