A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held in Gaza for a third day on Sunday ahead of the expected release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and an address by US President Donald Trump to Israel’s parliament.
Thousands of Palestinians continued to travel north towards Gaza City, the focus of Israeli attacks over the past two months, hopeful the ceasefire would bring an end to the war.
“There is a lot of joy among the people,” said Abdou Abu Seada, adding that the joy was tempered by exhaustion after two-years of war that have destroyed much of Gaza.
Read More: Hamas warns tough talks ahead
Israel’s hostages coordinator Gal Hirsch, in a letter to relatives of the captives seen by Reuters, said it was expected that hostages would start being released on Monday.
Hamas set to release hostages from midday Monday
Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is due by noon on Monday to release the remaining hostages, taken captive on October 7, 2023, when the group’s militants launched the surprise attack on Israel that ignited the war.
Hirsch on Thursday said a task force would be formed to help find the remains of any dead hostages that Hamas could not locate. Twenty of the 48 hostages are known to be alive.
Trump is due to arrive in Israel on Monday to address the Knesset, the parliament, before traveling to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt for a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner addressed a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, which many Israelis hoped would be the final one urging the release of hostages and end to the war.
