Hamas says Israeli hostages to be freed from Gaza before Trump peace summit in Egypt

Hamas will begin releasing Israeli hostages held in Gaza early on Monday morning, a senior official of the Palestinian militant group told AFP, just hours before US President Donald Trump convenes a major peace summit in Egypt on the future of the region.

All the surviving hostages will be released simultaneously.

Under the first phase of the deal, Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attacks triggered the devastating conflict, will free 20 surviving hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, AFP reported.

“According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning as agreed,” Hamas official Osama Hamdan said in an interview on Saturday.