Gaza hostage release live updates: Hamas releases all 20 hostages taken during October 7 attacks; Trump addresses Israeli parliament

Good morning, and thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas.

All 20 living hostages held by Hamas and thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel walked free on Monday as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that decimated the Gaza Strip and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Here’s a recap of yesterday’s key moments:

• The release of the hostages began just after 8am local time (4pm AEDT). The first seven hostages were transferred by Hamas into the care of Red Cross personnel, then handed over to the IDF.
• The second cohort of 13 surviving hostages was delivered about two hours later, while the released Palestinian prisoners boarded buses at Israeli prisons.
• Speaking to the Knesset, US President Donald Trump said Israel had entered a “golden” age, and had triumphed with the use of US weapons, but also delivered a backhanded gesture to Netanyahu over the drawn-out nature of the conflict.
• Trump also used his time at podium to urge Israeli president Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges.
• The US president arrived in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh about an hour before sundown for the gathering of more than 20 world leaders for a peace summit

with AP, Reuters

The families of the hostages are furious at a breach in the ceasefire agreement because Hamas failed to transfer the bodies of 28 hostages who died in captivity. The military wing of Hamas has released the names of four hostages whose bodies it said were returned to Israel on Monday, but this represents a sudden change on the previous understanding that most, if not all, would be handed to Israeli authorities.

The four who were transferred were Bipin Joshi, a Nepalese agriculture student kidnapped from a kibbutz; Guy Illouz, a young Israeli man wounded and seized at the Nova music festival; Yossi Sharabi, an Israeli who was kidnapped and died in captivity; and Daniel Peretz, a captain in the Israel Defence Forces who was killed in battle.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum issued a statement said Israel should suspend the agreement until every deceased individual was returned. “An agreement must be honoured by both sides. If Hamas does not fulfil their part, Israel should not fulfil its part either,” it said.

World leaders have thrown their support behind a Middle East “peace deal” brokered by the US and President Donald Trump as they gathered for a summit on post-war Gaza in Egypt.

Trump arrived at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh directly from Israel, where he had earlier addressed the parliament, and delivered remarks as key leaders signed a document related to the deal.

From the left, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, US President Donald Trump, Emir of Qatar Cheikh Tamim ben Hamad al-Thani, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and fellow dignitaries pose during the family picture at the Gaza International Peace Summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.Credit: AP

“This is an incredible day for the world, let alone the Middle East,” Trump said. “This took 3000 years to get to this point, can you believe it? And it’s going to hold up, too. It’s going to hold up.”

The exact terms of the document signed by Trump and other leaders were not immediately published, but it was expected to closely resemble the 20-point Gaza peace plan the US had released earlier.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the agreement alongside Trump, who said they were instrumental in its creation.

They were watched by a slew of other world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the summit, despite earlier reports that he would go after a last-minute request from Trump. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority which exercises partial control of the West Bank, was in attendance.

US President Donald Trump greets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of the peace summit in Egypt.Credit: Getty Images