Hamas was set to release all surviving hostages on Monday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as US President Donald Trump headed to the region for a peace summit having declared the war “over”.

Trump’s lightning visit to Israel and Egypt aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week’s ceasefire and hostage release deal — but comes at a precarious time as Israel and Hamas negotiate what comes next.

Under the US president’s proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian militants have handed over the surviving hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange.

Israel expects all 20 living hostages to be released to the Red Cross “early Monday morning”, according to a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Speaking to reporters o

See Full Page