A ceasefire in the war in the Gaza Strip into a third day on Sunday as aid agencies work to rush more urgently needed supplies assistance to the besieged territory according to the armistice agreement. Preparations were also made for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
US President Donald Trumpwho has pushed for a ceasefire agreement is expected to arrive in Israel on Monday morning. He will meet with the families of the hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, according to a schedule released by the White House.
Trump will next travel to Egypt, where Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's office said he will co-chair a “peace summit” on Monday involving regional and international leaders.
Gaza's Hamas-run Interior Ministry sent thousands of police to areas from which Israeli troops withdrew after the ceasefire took effect.
Armed police were seen on the streets of Gaza City and southern Gaza on Saturday, creating a sense of security among the local population. Police also provided security for aid trucks passing through areas not controlled by the Israeli military, residents said.
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Hostage's family 'shocked' by imminent release
Alana Zeichik, a relative of Israeli hostage David Kunio, said she is “nervous” about what condition he will be in when he is released from captivity.
Kunio's wife Sharon Aloni Kunio and his twin daughters were captured by Hamas and released in November 2023.
Zeitchik said Kunio's wife received advice on how to tell their daughters their father was coming home and that they were “shocked” to hear the news.
Zeichik told The Associated Press: “We won't be able to breathe a sigh of relief until he returns to Israeli soil.”
Private sector needed to rebuild Gaza, German minister says
Germany wants to quickly support the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip if a lasting peace agreement is reached, Development Minister Rome Alabali Radovan said.
“Germany is ready to help with reconstruction,” Alabali Radovan told the Handelsblatt newspaper on Sunday.
She said Germany wants to help initially with mobile temporary housing and advocates involving the private sector in reconstruction.
“It won't work without private capital. Rebuilding Gaza, Syria or Ukraine requires amounts of money that we will never be able to raise from the state budget alone,” she said.
UN aid agency 'ready'
Gaza's largest humanitarian organization, UNRWA, which has the equivalent of 6,000 truckloads of aid waiting outside in Egypt and Jordan, said it was unclear about its role in the new expansion of aid to Gaza.
Spokesman Jonathan Fowler said the U.N. agency for Palestine refugees is “ready” to do its part and has enough food supplies in warehouses for the entire population of the Gaza Strip for three months.
There are no US troops in Gaza, Vance says.
As Trump prepares to travel to the Middle East, his vice president said he believes “we are on the cusp of peace in Gaza for the first time – not just in a couple of years, but really in a very long time.”
Trump was able to “unite the Israelis with the Arab Gulf states behind a common goal, which is to bring the hostages home, to stop the war and to build the kind of long-term settlement that we really believe can lead to lasting peace,” J.D. Vance said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press.”
He said about 200 U.S. Central Command troops were already in the region to enforce the ceasefire and help ensure the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“American troops don't have to be in the Gaza Strip,” Vance said.
In a separate interview, Vance said Trump would also likely meet with the recently released hostages.
“Knock on wood, but we are very confident that the hostages will be released and this president is actually traveling to the Middle East, probably this evening, to meet them and greet them in person,” Vance said on CBS' “Face the Nation.”
More help for Gaza
Associated Press footage showed dozens of trucks crossing the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian Red Crescent said they were carrying medicine, tents, blankets, food and fuel.
The trucks will head to the inspection area at the Kerem Shalom checkpoint for inspection by Israeli troops.
Abir Etifa, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program, said workers were clearing roads inside the Gaza Strip on Sunday to facilitate deliveries.
The Israeli defense body in charge of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, COGAT, said the volume of aid entering the Gaza Strip was expected to increase on Sunday to about 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement.
Egypt said it would send 400 trucks of humanitarian aid to Gaza on Sunday. The trucks will have to be inspected by the Israeli military before they are allowed to enter.
Preparations for the release of hostages
A message sent Saturday from Gal Hirsch, Israel's hostage and missing persons coordinator and obtained by the AP, asked families of the hostages to prepare for the release of their loved ones starting Monday morning. The authenticity of the note was confirmed by one of the families of the hostages.
Hirsch said preparations for receiving live hostages at hospitals and the Reyim camp have been completed, and the dead will be transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification.
Israeli officials believe about 20 of the 48 hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip are still alive. All remaining hostages are expected to be released on Monday.
Palestinian prisoners will be released
Dates for the release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel and set to be released under the agreement have not yet been announced. They include 250 people serving life sentences, as well as 1,700 people captured in the Gaza Strip during the war and held without charge.
Health authorities in Gaza are preparing for the return of 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are expected to require “urgent treatment,” as well as corpses removed from the strip by the Israeli military, Dr. Mounir al-Bursh, director general of the health ministry in the enclave, said in a statement.
He expressed hope that the bodies of medical personnel who died in Israeli detention centers would be among those handed over, and called for the release of doctors Hossam Abu Safiya and Marwan al-Khams, who were detained in the Gaza Strip during the war.
Satellite photos show Gazans returning home
Photos taken Saturday and reviewed by the AP showed a line of vehicles heading north into Gaza City. A line of vehicles was seen on Al-Rashid Street, which runs north-south along the Gaza Strip coastline on the Mediterranean Sea.
Tents along the coast could also be seen near the Gaza City pier. Many people lived along the sea to avoid Israeli bombing of the city.
In Gaza City and southern Gaza, armed police were seen patrolling streets and guarding aid trucks passing through areas from which Israeli troops have withdrawn, residents said. The police are part of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.
Leaders head to Egypt
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Egypt to take part in the signing ceremony for a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip, his spokesman said.
“Germany will be committed to implementing the peace plan, initially focusing on maintaining a stable ceasefire and providing humanitarian assistance,” Stefan Cornelius said in a written statement on Sunday, adding that “the chancellor's trip tomorrow underscores this commitment.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis will also attend the summit in Egypt, as will Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, officials said on Sunday.
On behalf of the bloc of 27 countries, the President of the European Council, António Costa, will take part in the ceremony.
Associated Press
