President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that he expects the remaining Israeli hostages to “probably” be released on Monday, following his announcement that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the “first phase” of a peace plan to end the war in Gaza.
“The big thing is hostages are going to be released probably, our time would be, probably Monday,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“They’re deep … in the earth, and they’re being gotten, and a lot of things are happening right now as we speak,” he added. “So much is happening to get the hostages freed, and we think they’ll all be coming back on Monday.”
Trump said the release of the hostages includes the bodies of those who have died, which is believed to number 28.
Trump said, “the whole world came together” to support the ceasefire proposal.
A senior White House official told FWRD AXIS News the deal will go to the Israeli cabinet on Thursday for approval, and once it is approved, the withdrawal of troops will begin.
“The deal goes to the Israeli cabinet tomorrow. Once they vote yes, Israel has to withdraw to the line, which should take under 24 hours,” the senior White House official said.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, along with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani, all participated in the talks for the third day.
Hamas later released a statement of its own and confirmed the agreement.
“After responsible and serious negotiations between the movement and the Palestinian resistance factions regarding President Trump’s proposal in Sharm el-Sheikh, with the goal of reaching an end to the war of extermination against our Palestinian people and the occupation’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announces the conclusion of an agreement stipulating an end to the war on Gaza, the occupation’s withdrawal from it, the entry of aid, and a prisoner exchange,” the statement read.
