Israel declares 'victory' over Hamas as Gaza prepares for prisoner exchange

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The United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the international summit in Sharm el-Sheikh reflected global determination to make the Gaza ceasefire work, but warned that urgent funding and full humanitarian access are still lacking.

“There are so many things that could go wrong in the coming days and weeks,” Fletcher told the Associated Press. “All of us working on this want to get the hostages home and masses of aid into Gaza to save as many lives as possible.”

He confirmed that aid trucks, including the first shipments of cooking gas in months, have begun entering Gaza, though “not yet at the scale needed.”

“Much of Gaza is a wasteland,” he said. “We need the funding, we need the access — and above all, we need this ceasefire to hold.”
 

Medical workers at Nasser Hospital say 13 bodies have been recovered from across Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, as rescue efforts continue amid widespread destruction.

Since the ceasefire took effect on Friday, dozens of victims have been pulled from beneath the rubble of residential buildings flattened during Israel’s final assaults before its withdrawal.

Civil defence teams say they expect to recover many more bodies in the coming days as heavy machinery reaches previously inaccessible areas.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt for a world leaders' summit on ending Israel's war in Gaza, his office said on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday as he headed to Israel and Egypt to celebrate a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that his Middle East trip would be "very special."

"This is going to be a very special time," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews just before boarding Air Force One. "Everybody's very excited about this moment in time."

The mediating nations for the ceasefire deal in Gaza are to sign a document guaranteeing the agreement at Monday's summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, a diplomatic source told AFP.

"The signatories will be the guarantors -- (the) US, Egypt, Qatar and likely Turkey," the diplomat briefed on the signing ceremony told AFP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive arrangements, after the Egyptian foreign ministry earlier said a document ending the war in Gaza was expected to be signed during the gathering hosted by the US and Egypt.

 US Vice President JD Vance has said Gulf Arab countries will bear the primary cost of rebuilding Gaza following Israel’s two-year war, insisting that the United States will not provide major financial assistance for reconstruction.

“I think that we’re going to work with our Gulf Arab states. Most of the money is going to come from our Gulf Arab friends, and I’m sure some will come from the Israelis,” Vance told Fox News on Saturday.

“This is actually not going to require many resources from the United States of America. What it will require is our constant supervision in our diplomatic engagement. That’s what we’re bringing to the table,” he added.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will attend a summit to finalize an agreement aimed at ending the war in Gaza, an Axios reporter said on X on Sunday, citing a senior Palestinian official.

The summit, which will be attended by U.S. President Donald Trump, will be held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday.

 Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has claimed “victory” over Hamas, saying the army’s two-year campaign in Gaza has achieved its objectives and “reshaped the face of the Middle East.”

“We will continue to realize the remaining war goals – in our actions we are reshaping the face of the Middle East and our security strategy for the years to come,” Zamir said in a statement released Saturday.

He pledged that the military would ensure “the Gaza Strip will not constitute a threat again to the State of Israel,” and said the army had made “complex decisions in order not to endanger the safety of the hostages and to significantly reduce casualties to our forces.”

Zamir’s remarks come as the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold, with the exchange of prisoners and hostages expected to begin on Monday morning.

Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh has met with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss post-war governance in Gaza and the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, according to an official statement.

Al-Sheikh reaffirmed the Palestinian Authority’s readiness to coordinate with Trump, Blair, and other international partners “to consolidate the ceasefire, deliver aid, release hostages and prisoners, and embark on recovery and reconstruction efforts.”
 

Prominent Palestinian journalist and social media reporter Saleh Al-Jaafrawi was killed in Gaza City this afternoon, reportedly shot dead by armed gangs shortly after documenting scenes of destruction in the Sabra neighbourhood, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Local reports say Al-Jaafrawi was gunned down by Israel-backed and armed collaborator groups, though the circumstances have not yet been independently verified. 

During the past two years of war, Israeli officials, army spokespersons, and online influencers had repeatedly smeared and threatened Al-Jaafrawi, who was known for documenting Gaza’s devastation and mass displacement through his widely followed video reports.

Unverified social media claims suggest members of the Dughmosh clan may have been involved in the shooting, but no confirmation has been provided.

Press groups and Palestinian media outlets have condemned the killing, calling it “a continuation of Israel’s war on journalists” that has already claimed the lives of nearly 200 reporters in Gaza since October 2023.

The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom gloated over the killing of Palestinian journalist Saleh Al-Jaafrawi by Israeli-backed and armed gangs in Gaza this afternoon.

During the two years of genocide, Israeli army spokespersons and influencers had smeared Al-Jaafrawi and threatened… pic.twitter.com/KlmZYwdHdV

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 12, 2025

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Saturday it has completed all necessary preparations for the medical examinations of Palestinian prisoners set to be released under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

In a brief statement posted on Telegram, the ministry confirmed that medical teams and facilities are ready to receive the detainees once the exchange begins.

A video released alongside the statement showed workers repairing and renovating Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza — the medical complex previously used to conduct health assessments for released prisoners.

Under the terms of the truce, about 250 Palestinian prisoners from the occupied West Bank will be freed along with nearly 2,000 detainees held in Gaza, following the release of 20 Israeli captives believed to be alive.

The exchange is expected to take place on Monday morning, marking one of the key steps in implementing the first phase of the peace agreement announced earlier this week.

Israel has confirmed that it will not be represented at the Gaza peace summit hosted by US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh.

“No Israeli official will attend,” Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told reporters.

Bedrosian added that Israel will begin releasing Palestinian prisoners once it has verified that all captives held in Gaza have safely returned to Israel.

In previous ceasefires, the identities of some deceased captives were confirmed only after their remains were returned to Israel.

ighteen police officers and several people were injured after thousands of pro-Palestine protesters took to the streets of Bern on Saturday, police said on Sunday, adding the demonstration was unauthorised.

The protest in the Swiss capital against Israel's war in Gaza turned violent when police tried to restrict the movement of the protesters, who were throwing objects and bricks, police told a press conference.

Swiss national broadcaster SRF reported that police used tear gas and water cannon against the crowd of up to 5,000 people who attended the march.

"This behaviour ... forced the police to use coercive measures," Michael Bettschen, deputy regional head of the Bern cantonal police, said on Sunday. One person was arrested.

Such confrontations are rare for Switzerland, although a pro-Gaza protest on October 2 in Geneva also led to clashes between police and protesters.

More than 50 properties in Bern were damaged, with windows smashed and graffiti sprayed on buildings, police said. The damage was likely to run into millions of Swiss francs, SRF reported, adding the rally was organized by pro-Palestinian groups from across Switzerland.

The police said in a statement on X during the protest on Saturday that the mood was "heated", with some people wearing masks and chanting slogans.

Hamas insists that the list of prisoners Israel is set to release under a Gaza ceasefire deal includes seven senior Palestinian leaders, sources close to negotiators told AFP news agency Sunday.

"Hamas insists that the final list include seven senior leaders, most notably Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Saadat, Ibrahim Hamed, and Abbas Al-Sayyed," a source said. The detail was confirmed by a second source.

The first source also said that Hamas and its allied militant groups had "completed all preparations" for handing over to Israel all the living hostages and some of the deceased ones held in Gaza.

The Palestinian Authority is ready to work with U.S. President Donald Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on their effort to consolidate the Gaza ceasefire and start rebuilding, a senior Palestinian official told Blair on Sunday.

Trump's plan for ending the Gaza war holds out the prospect of the Palestinian Authority, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, eventually taking control of Gaza, but only after it completes reforms.

Abbas lost control of Gaza to the Hamas group in 2007.

Trump's proposal says Hamas must end its rule of Gaza and foresees the territory being run by a Palestinian technocratic committee supervised by an international body chaired by him and including Blair.

Hussein al-Sheikh, deputy head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said he had met Blair to discuss the day after in Gaza and making Trump's plan for "stopping the Gaza war and establishing lasting peace in the region a success".

"We have confirmed our readiness to work with President Trump, Mr. Blair and the partners to consolidate the ceasefire, the entry of aid, the release of hostages and prisoners, and then start with the recovery and reconstruction," Sheikh wrote on X.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Gaza being run by the Palestinian Authority. 

US Vice President JD Vance clarified that Washington does not plan to deploy troops to Israel or the Gaza Strip.

"We already have troops at Central Command," Vance said, explaining that they will "monitor the terms of the ceasefire."

Speaking on ABC’s This Week, he added: "The idea that we're going to have troops on the ground in Gaza, in Israel, that is not our intention – that is not our plan."

Vance also noted that earlier reports suggesting otherwise were inaccurate, saying, "There was a bit of a misreporting there."

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported that 124 bodies were brought to hospitals across the enclave over the past 24 hours, including 117 recovered from beneath the rubble following Israeli attacks.

In its latest update, the ministry also recorded 33 injuries during the same period.

These new figures bring the total death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza to 67,806, with 170,066 others wounded since the start of the conflict.

 An Israeli government spokesperson said on Sunday that the release of hostages held in Gaza will begin early Monday morning.

All 20 living hostages are expected to be released together at one time, she added.

Pope Leo XIV called Sunday for "courage" from those forging a peace plan for Gaza, as world leaders prepared to attend a summit on ending the conflict.

"The agreement to begin the peace process has given a spark of hope in the Holy Land," the US-born pontiff said at the end of Sunday's Angelus prayer.

"I encourage the parties involved to courageously continue on the path towards a just and lasting peace that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples", he said.

US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will on Monday chair a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh which aims to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

International leaders will discuss implementing the first phase of a ceasefire, two years after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack triggered a counter-offensive by Israel that killed more than 67,000 Palestinians.

"Two years of conflict have left death and destruction everywhere, especially in the hearts of those who have brutally lost their children, their parents, their friends, everything", Pope Leo said.

He asked God to help "accomplish what now seems humanly impossible: to rediscover that the other is not an enemy, but a brother to look to, forgive, and offer the hope of reconciliation."

The pope also spoke of his "sorrow" following the news of "new, violent attacks that have hit several cities and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, causing the deaths of innocent people, including children".

"My heart goes out to the suffering population, who have lived in anguish and deprivation for years," he said, calling once again for "an end to the violence".

Israel has released the five remaining Spanish detainees from flotillas it blocked while they were carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists to devastated Gaza, sources at Spain's foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Israel has this month intercepted in international waters two flotillas aiming to break its blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine after two years of brutal conflict.

Israel arrested the crews, with Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg among the dozens of activists of various nationalities, sparking huge protests in Europe.

Israel has been releasing them over recent days, with Spanish foreign ministry sources saying: "The last five members of the flotilla held by Israel are now on their way to Spain."

Among them is a member of the first flotilla who was not included in a first wave of releases after allegedly biting an Israeli prison officer.

"There are no more Spaniards from the flotilla detained in Israel," the ministry sources added.

Almost 50 other Spanish flotilla members had returned home during the past week.

The activists have complained of mistreatment during their detention in Israel. Israeli authorities have denied the allegations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was ready to receive all hostages held in Gaza, ahead of their exchange on Monday for Palestinian prisoners under a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

"Israel is prepared and ready for the immediate reception of all our hostages," Netanyahu said in a statement issued on Sunday.

A stone's throw from the wall separating Israel and the occupied West Bank, the Shamasneh family is ready to welcome home two sons jailed for the past 34 years.

Abdel Jawad and Mohammed are expected to be among the Palestinians freed from Israeli detention under the terms of the ceasefire agreement approved last week.

"Today I'm so happy the world feels too small for my joy," their elated mother, 83-year-old Halima Shamasneh, told AFP news agency.

"People called us and said: 'Their names are on the list -- they're out, they're registered'," she said.

Israel has drawn up a list of 250 names of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released on Monday in exchange for the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

In January 2025, a six-week truce saw hundreds of Palestinians released in exchange for hostages, but not the Shamasneh brothers.

Israel and Hamas have agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal, based on a 20-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.

A Hamas source close to the group's negotiating committee told AFP news agency on Sunday that it will not participate in post-war Gaza governance, as world leaders prepare to converge on Egypt for a Gaza peace summit.

The source's comments come days after an Israel-Hamas ceasefire came into effect, and as both sides discuss implementing US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the war, which calls for Hamas' disarmament and for the group not to be involved in running post-war Gaza.

"For Hamas, the governance of the Gaza Strip is a closed issue. 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," the source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Unlike other more top-heavy organisations in the region, Hamas' leadership has in the past been divided on key issues, including on the future administration of Gaza.

But where there appears to be no division among top members is on the question of disarmament, which the group has long described as a red line.

"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 who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive topics had earlier told AFP that Hamas' disarmament was "out of the question".

Hamas will begin releasing Israeli hostages held in Gaza on Monday morning, a top official from the Palestinian group told AFP news agency, before US President Donald Trump chairs an international summit in Egypt on his peace plan for the region.

As part of the deal's first phase, Hamas, whose deadly attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the conflict, will free the captives, 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

"According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning as agreed," Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP in an interview Saturday.

Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will then chair a summit of more than 20 countries in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday afternoon, the Egyptian presidency announced.

The meeting will aim "to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability", it said.

reparations were underway Sunday for a ramp-up of aid entering the war-battered Gaza Strip under a new ceasefire deal that many are hoping will signal an end to the devastating 2-year-long war.

The Israeli defense body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, said that the amount of aid entering Gaza Strip is expected to ramp up on Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement.

Egypt said it is sending 400 trucks carrying aid into Gaza Sunday. The trucks will have to be inspected by Israeli forces before being allowed in.

According to news agency The Associated Press, dozens of trucks were crossing the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.

The Egyptian Red Crescent said the trucks include medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and fuel.

The trucks will head to the inspection area in the Kerem Shalom crossing for screening by Israeli troops. In recent months, the U.N. and its partners have been able to deliver only 20% of the aid needed in Gaza because of the fighting, border closures and Israeli restrictions on what enters.

Expanding Israeli offensives and restrictions on humanitarian aid have triggered a hunger crisis, including famine in parts of the territory.

The United Nations has said that it has about 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid ready to enter Gaza once Israel gives the green light.

The Egyptian presidency announced late on Saturday that US President Donald Trump will co-chair a "peace summit" in Egypt on Monday, focused on Gaza and broader Middle East stability.

According to the statement, leaders from more than twenty countries are expected to participate.

Confirmed attendees include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Council President Antonio Costa.

It remains unclear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend.

Husam Badran, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told AFP news agency that the Palestinian group "will not be involved" in the summit, noting that Hamas had previously engaged in talks through Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

The summit coincides with the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which is set to begin on Monday with the exchange of Israeli and Palestinian captives.

The president of the EU Council Antonio Costa will represent the bloc at Monday's Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit on Gaza, a spokesperson said Sunday.

The Middle East Peace Plan "offers a real chance to build a just and sustainable peace, and the EU is fully committed to supporting these efforts and contributing to its implementation," the spokesperson said.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Egypt to attend the Middle East peace summit, broadcaster NTV reported on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are also expected to participate in the summit.

The first phase of the ceasefire plan proposed by Trump is set to begin with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners by Monday.

Tens of thousands joined a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney on Sunday, organisers said, one of dozens of demonstrations across Australia, with some protesters expressing scepticism a ceasefire in Israel's two-year-old assault in Gaza would hold.

The organiser, the Palestine Action Group, estimated a crowd of 30,000 in Sydney, the nation's most populous city, one of about 27 nationwide. Police did not have a crowd estimate for the protest.

The Gaza ceasefire appeared to be holding early on Sunday and Israeli troops had pulled back under the first phase of a U.S.-brokered agreement to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands and left much of the narrow enclave in ruins.

"Even if the ceasefire holds, Israel is still conducting a military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank," Amal Naser, an organiser of the Sydney rally, said in a statement. "The occupation as well as systemic discrimination against Palestinians living in Israel constitute an Apartheid system."

Australian Broadcasting Corp footage showed protesters, many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyeh scarves, marching on closed city streets. Police said no arrests were made.

The rally was held in the business district after a court last week blocked a move to hold it at the Sydney Opera House.

Jordan's King Abdullah II will attend an international Gaza peace summit in Egypt on Monday, state media reported.

"Jordan will participate in Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, scheduled to be held on Monday, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Donald Trump, with the participation of leaders from more than 20 countries," the website of Al-Mamlaka TV said Sunday, citing a Jordanian official source.