Trump expecting to greet freed Israeli hostages on Monday, Vance says

3 hours ago 2

London: The Trump administration says the US President is expected to greet the 20 living hostages held captive by Hamas after they are handed over early Monday morning as he travels to the Middle East to commemorate the ceasefire.

But Israel stressed on Sunday its forces were ready to “immediately” receive those kidnapped by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, after the White House indicated the handover could occur at any moment.

Donald Trump is expected to greet Israeli hostages on Monday morning.

Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance said Donald Trump was planning to “greet the hostages Monday morning Middle Eastern time”.

“You can’t say [it will occur] exactly the moment they will be released, but we have every expectation - that’s why the president is going - that he will be greeting the hostages early next week,” Vance said.

“It’s a monumental thing … we are right on the cusp of bringing these hostages home.”

As well as travelling to Israel, Trump is attending an international peace summit in Cairo on Monday, which will include a signing ceremony attended by 20 global leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Workers put up pieces of a huge sign that reads, “Peace Israel” in English and in Hebrew on a building in hostage square on Sunday.

Trump has received international acclaim for bringing about the ceasefire via his 20-point peace plan, though a key stumbling block is whether Hamas will disarm as demanded by Israel and the US.

Supporting the timeline offered by Hamas over a Monday morning handover, Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told a Tev Aviv news conference early Sunday afternoon (local time) all 20 hostages were expected to be delivered to Red Cross personnel at the same time without “any sick displays by Hamas”.

In a rundown of the repatriation of the remaining hostages snatched by Hamas during terror attack that killed nearly 1200 people, Bedrosian said the freed captives would then be transferred to Israeli-controlled territory in Gaza, then on to the Re’im base in southern Israel, where they would receive medical attention and be reunited with their families.

“During this time, the entire nation of Israel will embrace them and help them get back on their feet,” she said, adding Israeli forces were also ready to receive the bodies of the 28 hostages who died while in captivity, and who would be given a short ceremony in Gaza, where their coffins would be draped with flags.

Aid trucks have been seen entering Gaza to disperse food and supplies to Palestinians on Sunday.

Following Friday’s ceasefire declaration, Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Agence France-Presse the exchange was to begin Monday morning “as agreed”. But Vance brought that timeline into question when he was asked on NBC when “exactly” the hostages would be released.

“It really should be any moment now,” Vance said.

In a statement published on Sunday morning, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “prepared and ready to immediately receive all of our hostages.”

The timing has not yet been announced for the release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel who are to be freed under the deal. They include 250 people serving life sentences in addition to 1,700 people seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge.

Bedrosian said the Palestinian prisoners would be released once “Israel has confirmation that all of our hostages set to be released tomorrow are across the border into Israel.”

As the third day of the ceasefire held, Associated Press footage showed dozens of trucks crossing the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian Red Crescent said they carried medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and fuel.

The trucks were expected to head to the inspection area in the Kerem Shalom crossing for screening by Israeli troops.

Abeer Etifa, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program, said workers were clearing roads inside Gaza Sunday to facilitate delivery.

As discussion turns to enforcing peace, Vance told NBC that while 200 US troops were already in the region to monitor the terms of the ceasefire and help ensure the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, no American soldiers would be deployed to Gaza.

More to come

With Associated Press