Latest developments in the Gaza ceasefire

US President Donald Trump gave a speech in Israel's parliament on Monday to mark the return of 20 surviving hostages from Gaza after a ceasefire he brokered entered into force.

His lightning visit to Israel came ahead of a summit on Gaza in Egypt, which Trump will co-chair alongside President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

In the Knesset, Trump hailed a "historic dawn of a new Middle East" and an end to the "long and painful nightmare" of the Gaza war.

Here are the latest developments:

- Hostage-prisoner exchange -

The initial stage of the ceasefire deal that took effect on Friday includes the release of 47 Israeli living and dead hostages taken on October 7, 2023, in exchange for 250 prisoners and 1,700 detainees held by Israel since the war broke out.

Hamas is also expected to hand over the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict.

Israel confirmed all living 20 hostages had returned to the country, with a series of posts on X that read: "Welcome home".

Israel does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday, with a hostage families' group accusing the militants of reneging on the deal by handing only four bodies over.

"This represents a blatant breach of the agreement by Hamas. We expect Israel's government and the mediators to take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

In return, Israel is due to release nearly 2,000 prisoners held in its jails.

In the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, an AFP journalist saw several buses leaving Israel's Ofer prison, while crowds in Ramallah and Khan Yunis gathered to welcome the prisoners.

- Trump speech -

Trump visited Israel on Monday, with lawmakers greeting him with a standing ovation as he entered the Knesset and Netanyahu calling him the "greatest friend" Israel has ever had in the White House.

In his speech to parliament, Trump called the hostages' release an "incredible triumph for Israel and the world", paying credit to mediators from Arab and Muslim world for pressuring Hamas.

He also urged Palestinians to "turn forever from the path of terror" following the failure of "jihadism and antisemitism", and vowed that the United States would "never forget" Hamas's October 7 attack.

"From October 7 until this week, Israel has been a nation at war, enduring burdens that only a proud and faithful people could withstand," Trump said.

"For so many families across this land, it has been years since you've known a single day of true peace," he said.

"But now it lasts, not only for Israelis, but also for Palestinians and for many others. The long and painful nightmare is finally over."

- Gaza summit -

Later in the day, Trump and Sisi will co-chair a summit of a host of world leaders in Egypt's resort town Sharm El-Sheikh.

After the Egyptian presidency announced Netanyahu's expected attendance, the Israeli leader said he was unable to go because the summit coincides with a Jewish holiday.

On Sunday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said a "document ending the war in the Gaza Strip" was expected to be signed during the "historic" gathering.

According to three diplomatic sources, mediators the US, Egypt, Qatar and likely Turkey would sign a guarantee document during the summit.

Hamas will not be represented at the summit, though Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose movement rivals Hamas, will attend.

Among those also expected are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan's King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Representation is also expected from the EU and Arab League, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India and Germany, among others.

- Hamas post-war role -

While the ceasefire and initial releases were welcomed by Israelis, Palestinians and others around the world, the coming phases in Trump's plan for Gaza are likely to prove more complicated to implement.

A Hamas source close to the group's negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that it would not participate in governing post-war Gaza.

The source, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the movement has "relinquished control of the Strip", but stressed it "remains a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric".

"Hamas agrees 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 said.

Another Hamas official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier told AFP the militant group's disarmament was "out of the question".

- Aid heads for Gaza -

More than 200 trucks carrying aid destined for Gaza, where the UN had declared a famine during the war.

After the guns fell silent on Friday, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured back into a shattered Gaza City on Saturday, with many finding their homes and landmarks they knew in ruins.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has reached 67,869, as it continued recovering the bodies of those killed during the war. The United Nations considers its figures to be reliable.

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