‘Beginning of a new path’: Hostage-prisoner swap between Israel, Hamas to take place Monday – All details inside

A hostage-prisoner swap will take place between Israel and Hamas on early Monday (Oct 13), confirmed both sides. The major breakthrough in the negotiations to end the war in Gaza comes after Israel and Hamas agreed to a peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this week. Under the first phase of the plan, Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners will be released. Days earlier, Israeli forces pulled out from the war-torn territory, with the ceasefire coming into effect and stopping the hostilities in Gaza. Meanwhile, hundreds and thousands of Palestinians returned to the Gaza Strip to find their homes destroyed amid the war.

“This is an emotional evening, an evening of tears, an evening of joy, because tomorrow our children will return to our borders,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, urging Israelis to unite after the hostage release.

“Tomorrow is the beginning of a new path – a path of rebuilding, a path of healing, and, I hope, a path of united hearts,” he added.

What we know about hostage-prisoner swap

A spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel expects the remaining 48 hostages who were abducted from Israel following the October 7, 2023, attack, 20 of whom are alive, held in Gaza to be freed early Monday. The hostages will be released to the Red Cross and then transported to Israel in six to eight vehicles. While Israel is expected to release about 2,000 Palestinian detainees in exchange.

“The release of our hostages will begin early Monday morning. 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,” Shosh Bedrosian told journalists on Sunday (Oct 12).

The Times of Israel reported that Israel has told hostage families that they are expecting the release to begin between 4 am and 6 am (local time), but the timing can vary. The Red Cross is expected to inform Israel two hours before the hostages are to be released.

Meanwhile, Hebrew media outlets reported that some families of dead hostages have been told by authorities that the bodies of their loved ones may not be returned in the hostage-prisoner exchange on Monday or in the first phase of the Gaza deal.

Bedrosian added that Palestinian prisoners will be freed after all Gaza hostages are confirmed to be in Israel. “Palestinian prisoners will be released once Israel has confirmation that all of our hostages set to be released tomorrow are across the border into Israel,” she said.

The National Institute of Forensic Medicine said in a statement that it was preparing to identify the bodies of the dead hostages using advanced technologies, fingerprints, dental matching and DNA extraction after they return to Israel. The process can take several hours or even days.

Egypt peace summit

Shortly after the hostage-prisoner exchange, Trump is expected to arrive in Israel and address the Israeli parliament. The US president may also visit one of the hospitals receiving freed hostages, depending on conditions, The Times of Israel reported. He will then head to Egypt for a peace summit, where world leaders have been invited, aimed at ending the two-year-long war in Gaza. The summit will be hosted by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Meanwhile, Bedrosian said that no Israeli representative will take part in the peace summit for Gaza in Egypt. “No Israeli official will attend,” she said in a statement.

Hamas insists seven Palestinian leaders be freed in hostage-prisoner swap

AFP reported, citing sources close to negotiators, that Hamas has insisted that the list of prisoners Israel is set to release includes seven Palestinian leaders.

“Hamas insists that the final list include seven senior leaders, most notably Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Saadat, Ibrahim Hamed, and Abbas Al-Sayyed,” the sources told the news agency. They added that Hamas and its allied militant groups had “completed all preparations” for handing over all the living hostages and some of the deceased held in Gaza. However, Israel has ruled out releasing Barghouti or other high-profile inmates.

Earlier reports claimed that Hamas had moved the Israeli hostages ahead of their release from three different locations in the Gaza Strip.