Trump-Gaza latest: Hostages set to be released as US president flies to Israel saying ‘war is over’

Hamas this morning has published the names of the 20 Israeli hostages to be released under the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Israelis are waiting to welcome home the last living hostages from Gaza this morning after two years of war.

Here is a look at some of the hostages Israel believes are still alive.

Matan Angrest, 22

Matan Angrest, an Israeli soldier, was kidnapped from his military tank in southern Israel. He is the oldest of four children from Kiryat Bialik, outside of Haifa. His family has been among the most vocal protesters and very critical of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gali Berman and Ziv Berman, 28

The fraternal twins were taken from their homes in kibbutz Kfar Aza, on the border with Gaza, during the 7 October 2023 attack. Seventeen others were also abducted from Kfar Aza, but the Berman twins are the only hostages from the kibbutz who remain in captivity.

Elkana Bohbot, 36

Elkana Bohbot was kidnapped from the Nova music festival. In the past year, Hamas has published multiple videos of Mr Bohbot, filmed under duress, including one where he has a fake telephone conversation with his wife, Rivka; their son, Reem; his mother and his brother — pleading with them to help him get out of Gaza.

Read more about the rest of the living hostages here:

The release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza is expected to begin at 8am local time today from the Netzarim corridor and continue at 10am local time in Gaza’s Khan Younis, according to reports.

Israel expects the living hostages, which are thought to number around 20, to be released together.

They will be handed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and then to the Israeli military, which will take them to the Reim military base to be reunited with families.

It is unlikely that the remains of up to 28 other hostages will be returned at the same time.

An international task force will work to locate deceased hostages who are not returned within 72 hours, said Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the hostages and the missing.

The scene in Hostages Square, Tel Aviv, on Thursday afternoon was one of nervous relief rather than joy. There had been too many false dawns for anyone to start unbridled celebrations.

The giant digital clock, when I dropped by, recorded 733 days, 11 hours and 47 minutes since 251 hostages were snatched in October 2023. Crowds milled aimlessly around; reporters scanned their mobiles for updates; the merch stalls were doing good business for hostage T-shirts, coffee cups and keyrings. Two women took it in turns to hold a giant placard proclaiming: “We love Trump. He who saves just one life saves an entire world.” Well, perhaps.

I stooped my way through the “tunnel experience” – an art installation claiming to simulate the underground experience of the hostages – and paused to watch a circle of relatives quietly dancing and singing. A former hostage, Omer Shem Tov, cautioned the crowd against too much hope. “With all that joy, I have to say: it’s not over yet.”

Alan Rusbridger writes:

Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released as soon as Israel has confirmation that all the hostages set to be released tomorrow are across the border into Israel, an Israeli spokeswoman said.

Spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian did not confirm whether she was referring to the 20 living hostages, or the 48 in total including those who have died.

But based on answers to other questions, and given reports that not all of the 28 deceased hostages have been located in Gaza, it appears she was referring to the living hostages.

Palestinian prisoners and detainees will already be in the buses when the hostages are due to cross into Israeli territory, she said.

“Once the confirmation comes through that they have crossed into Israeli territory, those buses will start and they will begin their journey [into Gaza],”she said.

Stretching out to the horizon in front of Palestinian father of two Said is a breathtaking level of destruction few can imagine. The apartment buildings in this north Gaza city are so eviscerated that they have been reduced to dust. It is hard to even call it rubble – it looks like ash.

“This is the location of our home. Nothing is visible,” Said says, pointing to an indiscernible mountain of grey, with a deadness in his voice. “Wiped out. Evaporated. It is as if there were never a house here at all.”

As soon as the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect at noon Friday, Said, 34, was among the first to take the deadly risk of marching north to find his home. Displaced countless times since the start of Israel’s two-year bombardment and siege on Gaza, he had hoped to at least recover some precious items, like photos, from his home.

“When I came back today I expected my home to be a collapsed building that we could retrieve belongings from,” he tells The Independent, sending videos and photos of the scene.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are taking the long march home to north Gaza, only to find ash and ruins, report Nedal Hamdouna and Bel Trew

The Independent’s Washington DC Correspondent John Bowden reports:

Donald Trump has said that he wants to find out if Tony Blair is “an acceptable choice to everybody”.

He told reporters on board Air Force One: “First, I want to find out if Tony [Blair] would be popular with all, because I just don’t know that – I like Tony, I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody.”