Gaza Peace Deal: Living Israeli hostages could be released on Monday or Tuesday

Hostages could return in 72 hours

Though neither side has officially announced any timeframe for the return of the living hostages, ABC News on Thursday reported that it could happen by Monday.

A senior Israeli official told ABC News that the 72-hour window for Hamas to release all hostages will begin after the Israeli government ratifies the deal on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to convene his Security Cabinet late Thursday to approve the ceasefire, and the entire parliament will then meet to approve the release of Palestinian prisoners.

US President Donald Trump, who proposed the 20-point Gaza peace plan, also spoke with the families of the Israeli hostages, promising them that their loved ones are coming home soon.

They are coming back on Monday: Trump

In a short video posted by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Trump was seen speaking by phone to a group of elated hostage families. “The hostages will come back,” said Trump, who is expected in the region in the coming days. “They are all coming back on Monday.”

Later speaking during the Cabinet Meeting, Trump said the hostages would return “on Monday or Tuesday.”

Trump’s Gaza peace plan

While announcing the Gaza peace plan on September 29, Trump had said that once Hamas accepts the deal, the militants will have 72 hours to return the hostages.

After days of sending mixed signals, Hamas accepted the peace plan on Friday. In the days that followed, representatives from Hamas, Israel, US, and Arab countries met in Egypt to finalise the deal.

On Thursday, the two sides announced that they had agreed on the first phase of the Gaza peace deal, which would see the release of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. At the same time, Israel has also committed to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Commenting on the return of the hostages, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has opposed previous ceasefire deals, said he had “mixed emotions.”

While he welcomed the return of the hostages, he said he had “immense fear about the consequences of emptying the jails and releasing the next generation of terrorist leaders” and called for Israel to continue trying to eradicate Hamas and to ensure Gaza is demilitarised once the hostages are released.

A total of 251 Israelis were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, after the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history. Israel rescued eight of them in June 2024 and many more were freed by Hamas during the past ceasefires, leaving 48 of them in the custody of the militants.

Will the Gaza peace plan hold?

Despite the two sides agreeing on some of the aspects of the Gaza peace deal, many differences still remain. This includes a lasting ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas, and who will govern Gaza.

Hamas has called on Trump and the mediators to ensure that Israel implements “without disavowal or delay” the troop withdrawal, the entry of aid into Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.

The hostage and prisoner releases are expected to begin Monday, the officials from Egypt and Hamas said, though the other official said they could occur as early as Sunday night. Five border crossings would reopen, including the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, allowing 400 trucks in the initial days and increasing to 600 trucks after that, the Egyptian and Hamas officials said.

The Trump plan calls for Israel to maintain an open-ended military presence inside Gaza, along its border with Israel. An international force, comprised largely of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would be responsible for security inside Gaza. The US would lead a massive internationally funded reconstruction effort.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that Turkey will “hopefully take part in the task force that will monitor the implementation of the agreement on the ground.”

After withdrawing from agreed-upon areas of Gaza, the Israeli military will still control 53% of the enclave, Shosh Bedrosian, Israeli government spokeswoman, said.

The plan also envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority — something Netanyahu has long opposed. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform program that could take years. The Trump plan is even more vague about a future Palestinian state, which Netanyahu firmly rejects.