Trump says 'war is over' in Gaza as hostage-prisoner swap nears

Israeli hostages are expected to be released later on Monday, two years after being taken captive by Hamas. In return, Israel will free 250 Palestinian prisoners and more than 1,700 detainees.

U.S. President Donald Trump declared that the "war is over in Gaza" as he headed on a high-stakes peace trip to Israel and Egypt on Sunday. Asked about prospects for the region, Trump said: "I think it's going to normalize."

In Israel, Trump is scheduled to meet with families of hostages seized by Hamas during its October 7, 2023 cross-border attack, before addressing the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem.

He will then travel to Egypt, where he and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of more than 20 world leaders in support of his plan to end the Gaza war and promote Middle East peace.

Meanwhile, the United Nations' humanitarian scale-up in the Gaza Strip is well underway, with cooking gas entering Gaza for the first time since March, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Sunday.

The United Nations and its partners distributed hundreds of thousands of hot meals and bread bundles, both in the south and the north, the office said.

Tense negotiations over release of Palestinian prisoners

Before the hostage–prisoner swap, Israel and Hamas were engaged in tense, albeit indirect, negotiations over the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed. Sources close to Hamas said Israel had backtracked on a previously agreed list that included senior militant leaders, raising fears of a breakdown in the fragile deal.

Under the recently reached ceasefire agreement, Hamas will release 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased hostages held in Gaza. In exchange, Israel will free roughly 2,000 Palestinian detainees.

The two sides remain divided over the list of prisoners to be released. The Palestinian sources said that Hamas insists on including senior figures such as Fatah's leader Marwan Barghouti and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's leader Ahmed Saadat, while Israel opposes their inclusion and prefers to release women, minors, and prisoners serving medium-term sentences.

Talks over the final list were ongoing, said the Hamas Prisoners' Information Office.

A lasting peace seems distant

The truce and the exchange of both hostages and prisoners offered a glimmer of hope, but it seems still too early to say a lasting peace.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that once the hostages were back the military would proceed to destroy Hamas' underground tunnel network in Gaza.

"The military will continue to act in order to shape a security reality that ensures the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians. "

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the country's military campaign "is not over" in a televised address.

Netanyahu said Israel still faces "very big security challenges" ahead. "Some of our enemies are trying to regroup," he warned, vowing to ensure Israel's security.

Still, much could go wrong. Key steps in Trump's 20-point plan have yet to be agreed upon, including how Gaza will be governed once the fighting ends and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has rejected Israel's demand to disarm.

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said it would deploy security forces in areas where the Israeli army withdrew. It was unclear whether armed militants would return to the streets in significant numbers, which Israel would see as a provocation. 

Progress now hinges on global commitments that could be taken up by the summit later on Monday in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will attend the summit in Egypt, an Axios reporter said on Sunday, citing a senior Palestinian official. No Israeli officials will attend, Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said.

(With input from agencies)