Israel expects all 20 living hostages to be freed from Gaza on Monday morning

Israeli government says it is also preparing for release of 2,000 Palestinian detainees in crucial next phase of ceasefire deal

A Palestinian woman carrying a child walks with other children among destroyed buildings in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The Israeli government says it expects all living hostages held in Gaza to be released on Monday morning and that it is preparing for the release of about 2,000 Palestinian detainees, the crucial next phase of the ceasefire deal that could end the two-year war in Gaza.

“We are expecting all 20 of our living hostages to be released together at one time to the Red Cross and transported among six to eight vehicles,” said the Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian.

Hostages will be driven to a military base to see their families or to hospitals if medical care is needed. The remains of deceased hostages are expected to be sent to the national Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification.

An unnamed Hamas official told Al Jazeera that living hostages had been gathered in Gaza and the militant group would meet the Red Cross on Sunday night to agree the logistics of their release.

The militant group holds 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

An international taskforce will work on finding the remains of hostages not released on Monday, with many believed to be buried under the rubble somewhere in the devastated Gaza Strip.

Israel will also release nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, the vast majority of whom will be sent to Gaza or exiled to neighbouring countries, once Israeli hostages are back on Israeli soil.

Several Hamas commanders, prominent Palestinian political figures and detained doctors whose releases were requested by Hamas were not on the list of Palestinians to be freed. The doctors Hussam Abu Safiya and Marwan al-Hams, who were detained in Gaza during the war, as well as the prominent Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti were not on the list.

Hamas said it was still in talks with Israeli negotiators to secure their release.

'They're all tired of the fighting'

The hostage-detainee swap is the first step in Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. 

A ceasefire has been in place since Friday afternoon, but most of the details of the US president’s proposals need to be negotiated before a lasting end to the war is established.

The US president will visit Jerusalem on Monday to speak at the Knesset, as well as meeting families of the hostages.

Trump will then fly to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt where he will co-chair a “peace summit” attended by the leaders of more than 20 countries aimed at finalising a permanent truce in Gaza.

Though the path ahead for the deal was murky, Trump said he expected a ceasefire would continue. “They’re all tired of the fighting,” he told reporters at the White House, adding that there was a “consensus” on the way forward.

Palestinians are desperate to see the ceasefire extend into a permanent end to the war, after two years of an Israeli campaign that destroyed most of the strip, killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and wounded about 170,000. 

Israel stands accused of conducting genocide in Gaza by a UN commission of inquiry and several human rights bodies.