Israel Says Hostages Will Be Released Monday As Trump Set To Depart For Middle East

Israel expect a final exchange of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners and detainees to start to take place early Monday, according to a spokesperson from Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office.

Meanwhile, many Palestinians are returning to devastating scenes inside Gaza City as seen in this Reuters video below.

Early-morning release: The 20 living hostages who have been held in Gaza will be released early Monday and all at the same time, said Shosh Bedrosian, spokesperson for Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. They will be transferred to the custody of the Red Cross before eventually being driven to Israel.

Prisoner release: Once the hostages have crossed back into Israel, the hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees set to be released will be driven into Gaza, Bedrosian said. She added that they will likely already be on the buses that will take them into the enclave, awaiting confirmation of the hostage release.

Trump traveling to Middle East: US President Donald Trump is set to travel to the Middle East today and address Israel’s parliament Monday. Trump is also expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as the families of the Israeli hostages.

Gaza summit in Egypt: After Israel, Trump will travel to neighboring Egypt, where he will hold a summit on Gaza with leaders from more than 20 countries.

Inside Gaza: The bodies of at least 117 Palestinians have been recovered in Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the enclave, with another seven people dying in the same time period. This means that at least 67,806 people have been killed in Gaza during the last two years of war, with 170,066 reported injuries, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

CNN