Hamas begins releasing Israeli captives as part of Gaza ceasefire deal

Hamas began releasing living Israeli captives on Monday as part of a deal to end the war on Gaza and facilitate a prisoner exchange.

Seven of the 20 Israeli captives held in Gaza were handed over to the International Red Cross at 8:00 AM local time (5:00 AM GMT), and were later transferred to the Israeli military.

A further thirteen captives are expected to be released by 10:00 AM local time (7:00 AM GMT).

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have begun preparations for the release of 1,966 Palestinian prisoners as part of the agreement.

According to Reuters, the Palestinian detainees have boarded buses ahead of their release to the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Some will be expelled from Palestine altogether, initially transferred to Egypt before relocating to other destinations at a later stage.

The group includes 250 people serving long or life sentences, and approximately 1,718 individuals who were kidnapped from the Gaza Strip over the past two years.

The list does not include high-profile Palestinian figures whose release was requested by Hamas but rejected by Israel.

These include Marwan Barghouti, a popular Fatah military leader; Ahmad Sa’adat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; and senior Hamas members Hassan Salama, Abdullah Barghouti, Ibrahim Hamed, and Abbas al-Sayed.

The prisoner swap is part of an agreement signed in Egypt last week to end the war on Gaza, lift Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid, and ensure and Israeli withdrawal from urban areas within the Gaza Strip.

US President Donald Trump is expected to land in Israel on Monday, where he will address the parliament, or Knesset, and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the families of the freed captives.

Later in the day, he will travel to Egypt to co-chair an international summit in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The summit is expected to finalise the Hamas-Israel agreement to end the war on Gaza. Neither Israel nor Hamas will participate directly in the event.

More to follow...