JERUSALEM — The war in Gaza is over and the Middle East is poised to “normalize,” U.S. President Donald Trump declared Sunday as he jetted toward Israel, where a fragile ceasefire with Hamas entered its third day and the release of Israeli hostages appeared imminent.
“The war is over, you understand that,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One during the flight from Washington. Asked about the region’s future, he added, “I think it’s going to normalize.”
The announcement came amid cautious optimism in Israel and Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians streamed north toward the shattered streets of Gaza City, clinging to hopes that the truce would deliver lasting peace after two grueling years of conflict. The war erupted Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has left more than 41,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza health authorities, and reduced much of the territory to rubble.
Under a U.S.-brokered “first phase” agreement mediated by Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, Hamas is set to begin releasing the 20 remaining living hostages by noon local time Monday. Israeli officials anticipate the handoff could start as early as dawn, with the group then turning over the bodies of 28 deceased captives.
“Tomorrow is the beginning of a new path. A path of building, a path of healing, and I hope — a path of uniting hearts,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address, his words broadcast as families in Israel braced for reunions and the dead were prepared for burial.
In Gaza, the mood mixed unbridled joy with bone-deep weariness. “There is a lot of joy among the people,” said Abdou Abu Seada, a Gaza resident navigating the exodus north. But he tempered the sentiment: “The joy is tempered by exhaustion after two years of war that has destroyed much of Gaza.”
Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said preparations were complete to receive the living hostages upon their arrival, with medical teams and families standing by. Their release will trigger Israel’s side of the deal: the freeing of 250 Palestinian prisoners convicted of murder and other serious crimes, whose names were published Sunday by the Justice Ministry.
The list drew immediate scrutiny from Hamas, which had pushed for high-profile releases including senior commanders and figures like Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Saadat. Hamas’ prisoners information office said negotiations with mediators continued over the roster, though officials expressed confidence the impasse wouldn’t scuttle the truce.
In a broader exchange, Israel pledged to release 1,700 Palestinians detained in Gaza since the war’s outset, along with 22 minors and the bodies of 360 militants. Bedrosian said those prisoners would go free only after the living hostages crossed into Israeli territory.
Trump’s arrival Monday will cap a whirlwind 24 hours: He is scheduled to address Israel’s Knesset, the parliament, before heading to Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh for a summit of world leaders aimed at cementing the ceasefire and charting Gaza’s reconstruction. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to attend, according to a senior Palestinian official cited by Axios.
The Israel Prison Service has already shuffled some detainees to new facilities in anticipation of the releases, while Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed that once the hostages are safely back, the military would turn its focus to dismantling Hamas’ vast underground tunnel network — a labyrinth used for smuggling weapons and launching attacks.
On the ground in northern Gaza, the ceasefire has unleashed a tide of returnees, their vehicles kicking up dust along cratered roads. But the homecoming is fraught: Rescue workers issued stark warnings about unexploded ordnance and booby-trapped bombs littering the landscape.
Amjad al-Shawa, who leads a Palestinian group coordinating with international aid organizations, painted a grim picture of the humanitarian crunch. He estimated that 300,000 tents would be needed to shelter 1.5 million displaced Gazans, many of whom have spent months in makeshift camps in the south.
As the sun set Sunday over the Mediterranean, the third day of calm felt like a collective exhale — fragile, but real. For the families of the hostages, it was a countdown to dawn. For Gaza’s survivors, a tentative step from the abyss. And for Trump, a high-stakes pivot toward the normalization he envisions: a Middle East redrawn not by rockets, but by handshakes.
