Israel says hostages expected to be released early Monday under Gaza ceasefire deal

Israel said Sunday that hostages held in Gaza are expected to be released early Monday under a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Israel "is ready to receive hostages if they are released earlier," said Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

She added that Israel will free Palestinian detainees once the hostages are safely returned from Gaza.

Under the ceasefire deal, 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences and 1,700 others detained in Gaza since October 2023, will be released in exchange for 48 Israeli hostages, including 20 alive.

US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. The first phase of the deal came into force on Friday.

A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas' participation, the deployment of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,600 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.