Israel Expects Hostages to Be Freed From Gaza ‘In a Few Hours’ as Ceasefire Holds

TEL AVIV – OCTOBER 13: People sit and talk in front of a clock counting the days the hostages have been in captivity at Hostages Square on October 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel. This week’s ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has brought an end to the two years of war that followed the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. A condition of the deal is the return of 48 hostages held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

CAIRO (AP) — Israel says it expects all of the 20 living hostages held in the Gaza Strip to be released Monday in its breakthrough ceasefire deal with Hamas. Palestinians on Sunday awaited the release of hundreds of prisoners held in Israel. A surge of aid into the famine-stricken territory has begun. U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Israel and Egypt on Monday after the ceasefire was announced last week. There is growing hope for an end to the two-year war. After the hostages are freed, Israel is ready to release about 2,000 Palestinian detainees and receive around 28 dead hostages.