Gaza Peace Summit Live Updates: Israelis gather to welcome last living hostages after release by Hamas as Trump says ‘War in Gaza over’

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has confirmed that the country will not be part of the peace summit being held in Egypt on Monday, despite receiving an invitation from the Egyptian presidency. 

In a post on X, minister Araghchi said that neither he nor the Iranian president can "engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People and continue to threaten and sanction us".

Iran is grateful for President El-Sisi's invitation to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit. While favoring diplomatic engagement, neither President Pezeshkian nor I can engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People and continue to threaten and sanction us.

Having…

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) October 12, 2025

The release of 20 living hostages from Gaza is slated to begin in an hour at around 10:30am IST (8am local time) in Gaza's Khan Younis and from Netzarim corridor, BBC reported.

Some families, reports say, are heading to Reim base on the Gaza border ahead of the expected release of the hostages.

Ahead of the Israeli hostages release on Monday morning, the United Nations has said that cooking gas was supplied to Gaza in more than seven months as several videos showed crowds of Palestinians flocking to get hold of much needed aid in famine stricken territory in the southern city of Khan Younis in Gaza.

World leaders from over 20 countries have started arriving in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to mark the first phase of ceasefire deal signed between Israel and Hamas ahead of Gaza hostages release.

The "peace summit" is poised to be chaired by US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian presidency said.

The hostage families are reported to be on their way to Reim as they await the release of their loved ones from Gaza, CNN reported quoting Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Hostages are believed to be taken to Reim after they are handed over by Hamas and cross over into Israeli territory.

The 20 living hostages, who are slated to be released from Gaza on Monday morning, would be released in three different batches. Two of the batches would be released from separate locations at 8 am local time (10:30am IST)  and a third batch would be released at another location one hour later, CNN reported.

The 20 living hostages are set to be released around 10:30am from Gaza from the Netzarim corridor and continue till 12:30pm in Gaza's Khan Younis, Israeli media reports said.

US President Donald Trump will receive a hero's welcome in Israel's parliament on Monday as a fragile Gaza ceasefire he helped to broker enters a fourth day, with the expected release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners marking tentative steps in a conflict long resistant to resolution.

Trump's Knesset speech follows two years of war sparked by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people in Israel with 251 taken hostage. Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults have since devastated Gaza, killing more than 67,000 Palestinians, the enclave's health officials say.

"The war is over," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he began his flight from Washington to Israel. Asked about prospects for the region, he said: "I think it's going to normalise." The UN said humanitarian aid was ramping up, with cooking gas entering for the first time since March and expanded food and medical deliveries.

- Reuters

Israelis on Monday prepared to welcome home the last 20 living hostages from devastated Gaza and mourn the return of the dead, in the key exchange of the breakthrough ceasefire after two years of war.Palestinians awaited the release of hundreds of prisoners held by Israel.

US President Donald Trump was arriving in the region along with other leaders to discuss the US-proposed deal and postwar plans. A surge of humanitarian aid was expected into famine-stricken Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless.

While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners marked a key step toward ending the deadliest war ever between Israel and the militant group.

- AP

US President Donald Trump on Sunday questioned whether former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair would serve on a new "Board of Peace" that is intended to oversee the governance of Gaza, amid ongoing criticisms of Blair for his role in the Iraq War.

"I've always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he's an acceptable choice to everybody," Trump said, without naming specific leaders who could be weighing in on his choice of Blair. A Gaza peace plan floated by the White House last month listed Blair as a member of the proposed board.

Trump made his remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight to Israel, where he is scheduled to address the Knesset on Monday. He is also planning to attend a world leaders' summit in Egypt aimed at formally ending the Gaza war, as a ceasefire now enters its fourth day.

- Reuters

US President Donald Trump has said that the two years old war in Gaza, which has claimed over 67,000 lives in Palestine, is "over" as he boarded the Air Force One to visit Israel and Egypt on Monday. Trump would meet the families of Gaza hostages in Tel Aviv, and he is also poised to co-chair a global "peace summit" in Egypt alonside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

“The war is over, OK? I think people are tired of it,” Trump told reporters as he emphasized that the ceasefire would hold because of that.

Preparations are in full swing in Israeli capital Tel Aviv as anticipation builds around the release of hostages who have been held in Gaza from last 737 days. Live covergae of the hostages release would be aired in the Hostage Square in Tel Aviv starting at 4 am local time.

After the signing of the first phase of US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas last week in Egypt, the militant group is all set to release the hostages from Gaza today as US President Donald Trump is on board the Air Force One and would reach Israel on Monday morning.

The US president would meet hostages families and address the Israeli parliament. There are about 20 hostages presumed to be alive, while the status of two hostages remain unknown, CNN reported.