Israel and Hamas negotiated over the release of Palestinian prisoners and hostages as part of a US-brokered peace deal. Photo / Getty Images
Israel and Hamas were locked in eleventh-hour negotiations on Sunday over the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The last-minute wranglings centred on requests to free senior Hamas commanders and Marwan Barghouti, the prominent Palestinian detainee, as part of a US-brokered peace deal to return hostages to Israel and end the war in Gaza.
A new round of talks was held on Sunday morning on the issue and it is not known if the push by Hamas could delay the hostage release. Israel said the prisoners would only be freed after all 20 surviving hostages were returned on Monday.
Hamas wants the release of seven high-profile Palestinian leaders, including Barghouti and Hamas commanders convicted of murdering dozens of Israeli civilians during the second intifada, sources close to negotiations said.
Israel this week ruled out releasing Barghouti, its most prominent Palestinian detainee. He has been imprisoned for 23 years for his role in terror attacks in 2001 and 2002.
Israel was preparing on Sunday to receive all 20 remaining living hostages, with JD Vance, the US Vice-President, stating they could be handed over “any moment now”.
Israel said the exchange would happen on Monday morning, when Donald Trump was due to arrive in Israel, before flying to Egypt for a truce ceremony.
The hostages were expected to be released before Trump lands in Israel on Monday at 9.20am local time.
The US President will address the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, before flying to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt for a signing ceremony attended by world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer.
The 20 living hostages will first be brought to the Israel Defence Forces’ Re’im base near the Gaza border for medical checks. They will then be flown in helicopters to three hospitals in central Israel: Sheba, Ichiloc and Beilonson.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying that Israel was “prepared and ready to immediately receive all of our hostages”.
Medics told The Telegraph that preparations included strict diets and mental health support to help hostages adapt to life without restrictions inside Gaza.
In Gaza, aid trucks reportedly entered the Strip on Sunday as part of the peace deal, with footage showing guards armed with clubs escorting the trucks. It was unclear with whom the armed guards were affiliated.
Meanwhile, Hamas members were seen roaming the streets of Gaza City, and footage emerged of Hamas security forces shooting at Palestinian civilians.
Some 7000 members of Hamas were called to reassert control and to “cleanse Gaza of outlaws and collaborators with Israel”, according to the BBC.
But the Hamas-run Gaza Government media office on Sunday called the claim “baseless”.
Officials from the terror group said on Sunday that they were prepared to relinquish control of Gaza but would not disarm.
“For Hamas, the governance of the Gaza Strip is a closed issue,” a Hamas source said as the hostage swap was being prepared.
“Hamas will not participate at all in the transitional phase, which means it has relinquished control of the Strip but it remains a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric.”
Hamas has agreed to a “long-term truce, and for its weapons not to be used at all during this period, except in the event of an Israeli attack on Gaza”, the source added.
AFP cited another Hamas official saying that Hamas’ disarmament was “out of the question”.
The position contradicts Trump’s 20-point plan, which states that the terror group must hand over its weapons and allow a transitional body to run the Strip until a reformed Palestinian Authority can take over.
Questions still remain about the transitional security force. However, Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, said that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) would begin destroying Hamas tunnels in Gaza after the hostages were released.
“The major challenge for Israel after the phase of returning the hostages will be the destruction of all of Hamas’ terror tunnels in Gaza, directly by the IDF and through the international mechanism to be established under US leadership and supervision,” Katz said on X.
“This is the primary meaning of implementing the agreed principle of demilitarising Gaza and disarming Hamas,” he added.
האתגר הגדול של ישראל לאחר שלב החזרת החטופים יהיה הריסת כל מנהרות הטרור של חמאס בעזה באופן ישיר ע"י צה"ל ובאמצעות המנגנון הבינלאומי שיוקם בהובלת ופיקוח ארה"ב.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) October 12, 2025
זאת המשמעות העיקרית של מימוש העיקרון עליו סוכם של פירוז עזה ונטרול חמאס מנשקו.
הנחיתי את צה"ל להיערך לביצוע המשימה.
As anxious but relieved Israeli families counted down the hours until their loved ones’ return, desperate Palestinians picked through the ruins of their homes in Gaza City and aid trucks queued to deliver badly needed supplies.
The third day of the ceasefire saw some aid trucks cross into Gaza, but residents in Khan Younis, in the south of the Strip, said some shipments were being ransacked by starving residents in chaotic scenes.
“We don’t want to live in a jungle. We demand aid be secured and respectfully distributed,” said Mohammed Zarab. “Look at how the food is lying on the ground. Look! People and cars are trampling it.”
For Mahmud al-Muzain, another bystander, the seizure of the aid parcels showed that Gaza did not trust that the US-led negotiations would lead to long-term peace.
“Everyone fears the war will return. People steal the aid and store it in their homes,” he told AFP. “We stockpile food out of fear and worry that the war will come back.”
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