BAGHDAD — Palestinian militant group Hamas released the first seven surviving Israeli hostages on Monday, marking the first stage of a ceasefire deal brokered with the help of U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces, the hostages were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza.
Another transfer involving 13 surviving hostages and 28 additional captives — including 26 confirmed dead and two whose status remains uncertain — is expected to follow.
As part of the agreement, Israel was also scheduled to free nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners later on the same day.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, in an interview with CNBC Sunday, said Trump is “serious about achieving peace” ahead of a high-stakes summit in Egypt aimed at ending the two-year war in Gaza.
