Israelis praise Trump at huge rally ahead of expected hostage release by Hamas in Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of people have held a rally in Tel Aviv, ahead of the expected release of Israeli hostages by Hamas.

Addressing the crowds, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said the hostages “are coming home” and praised Donald Trump for making a Gaza ceasefire and hostage return deal possible.

In Gaza, Palestinian officials said about 500,000 people had returned to northern Gaza – which lies in ruins – in the past two days, following the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Meanwhile Egypt confirmed it would host a summit on Monday to finalise an agreement aimed at ending the war.

More than 20 leaders including Trump would attend the summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, an Egyptian presidential spokesperson said. French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are confirmed to be travelling to Egypt on Monday.

Trump is expected to visit Israel on Monday before heading to Egypt. His daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner also addressed the Tel Aviv rally on Saturday.

Three members of Qatar’s top administrative body – the Amiri Diwan – died in a car crash near Sharm El-Sheikh, the Qatari embassy in Egypt said on Sunday. Qatar has been mediating in the Gaza crisis.

Under the ceasefire and hostage release deal announced on Thursday, Hamas was given 72 hours – until 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday – to release all the 48 hostages it is still holding after two years of war, 20 of whom are assumed to be alive.

A top Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, told AFP news agency that “according to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning as agreed, and there are no new developments on this matter”.

He said Hamas militants on the ground had not yet notified the movement’s leadership about the logistics of the handover.

Aviv Havron, whose family members were murdered and others kidnapped in the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas, told the BBC in Tel Aviv: “It’s so important for the community… that they come back. Without this, we can’t restart our lives.

“My sisters and two brothers in law were murdered. Seven of my family members were kidnapped – my older sister was kidnapped, her daughter, her grandchildren. Four bodies of Be’eri [community] members are still in Gaza,.”