The releases came as Trump arrived in Israel for a lightning visit ahead of a trip to Egypt for a peace summit, having declared the war “over”.

A Red Cross convoy is on its way to pick up a second group of Israeli hostages to be freed by Hamas as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal

The Gaza peace deal hinges on both sides adhering to an agreement to exchange hostages seized from Israel in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack

The supervisory “Board of Peace” committee Trump has said he would chair will also include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address the UN General Assembly on Friday

Hamas’ armed wing released a video, on Monday, showing an Israeli-German hostage alive, the second such footage of him

“Sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s (demilitarising) not possible. But we hope it can happen”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said eliminating Hamas leaders would end the war in Gaza, as top US diplomat Marco Rubio said hours ahead of his visit to Israel that its strike against Hamas in Qatar would not derail their alliance.

Gaza health authorities say more than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed and tens of thousands wounded since Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel’s defence minister told Hamas on Monday to lay down its arms or face annihilation, after US President Donald Trump said the militant group must accept a deal to release hostages in Gaza.

Trump first floated the idea in February of turning Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East” after moving out its Palestinian residents and putting it under American control.

A senior Israeli official on Tuesday said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any future Gaza ceasefire deal, after Hamas accepted a new truce proposal.

Hamas has accepted a new ceasefire proposal for Gaza, a senior member from the group said Monday, after a fresh diplomatic push to end more than 22 months of war.

“Netanyahu’s plans to escalate the aggression confirm beyond any doubt his desire to get rid of the captives and sacrifice them in pursuit of his personal interests and extremist ideological agenda,” Hamas said in a statement.

“For the first time, Arab countries and those in the Middle East condemn Hamas, condemn October 7, call for the disarmament of Hamas, call for its exclusion from Palestinian governance, and clearly express their intention to normalize relations with Israel in the future,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.