People gather at "Hostage Square" to watch a tribute video and await the live broadcast of the hostage release on October 13, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo: VCG

As the hotly anticipated first phase of a ceasefire deal unfolds, Hamas on Monday released all 20 of the surviving Israeli hostages in Gaza. The first group of seven captives are already back in Israel while 13 others have been transferred into the custody of the Red Cross in Gaza, media reported on Monday.

Speaking at Israel's parliament on Monday, the Knesset, US President Donald Trump hailed the cease-fire deal that he helped broker. "We gather on a day of profound joy, of soaring hope," he said, Wall Street Journal reported.

He is scheduled to co-chair a gathering of world leaders in Egypt dubbed "the Summit for Peace" to support ending the two-year war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited but declined to attend, according to Times of Israel. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are among the 30 world leaders expected at the summit, along with the leaders of Qatar and Indonesia.

Elaborating on China's position regarding the situation in Gaza, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday that China welcomes and supports all efforts conducive to restoring peace and easing the humanitarian crisis. The pressing task now is to  realize a full and lasting ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible, effectively alleviate the humanitarian crisis and restore regional stability.

The principle of the "Palestinians governing Palestine" should be upheld in the post-conflict governance of Gaza and any arrangements for the future of Gaza need to respect the will of the Palestinian people and dovetail with the two-State solution. China will, as always, play its role as a responsible major country, and continue to work with the international community to make relentless effort for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question at an early date, Lin said.

As the remaining 13 hostages handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross, live footage showed a convoy of five Red Cross vehicles leaving Khan Younis in southern Gaza, to the cheers of onlookers and surrounded by Hamas officers, NBC News reported on Monday. 

Under the peace deal, Hamas' release of the 20 surviving Israeli captives is in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, many without charge, reported Al Jazeera.

The first of 38 buses carrying Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons has crossed into Gaza later on Monday, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Information Office.

An official involved in the exchange told Reuters that all the Palestinian prisoners scheduled to be released had boarded buses at Israeli prisons.

Al Jazeera reported that a designated medical station had been set up at the Nasser Hospital to offer medical checks to the returning Palestinian prisoners before they are reunited with their families.

Arriving at Israel's parliament to deliver his address to the Knesset on Monday, Trump said Hamas would comply with a plan to disarm, according to Reuters.

The US president has previously indicated the issue of Hamas disarmament would be addressed in the second phase of the peace plan. Hamas, however, has appeared to reject the idea of disarmament.

Speaking en route to Israel on board Air Force One, Trump declared the war in the Middle East is over and is going to "normalize." He added that a "Board of Peace" would quickly be established for Gaza, which he said looked like a "demolition site," according to media reports.

After addressing the Israeli parliament, Trump is expected to arrive in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh later on Monday and co-chair with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi "the Summit for Peace," where he will host world leaders from Turkey, Jordan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, the United Nations and European Union.

Directly tackling the remaining issues in depth is unlikely at the gathering, expected to last about two hours. El-Sissi and Trump are expected to issue a joint statement after it ends, The Washington Post reported on Monday. 

According to media reports, the negotiations at the summit will have to tackle the issues of disarming Hamas, creating a post-war government for Gaza and the extent of Israel's withdrawal from the territory. Trump's plan stipulates that regional and international partners will work to develop the core of a new Palestinian security force.

Another key issue is raising funds for Gaza's reconstruction. The World Bank, and Egypt's postwar plan estimate reconstruction and recovery needs in Gaza at $53 billion. Egypt plans to host a future reconstruction conference, reports said. 

Chinese experts outlined several key steps after the prisoner exchange. First, governance arrangements for the transitional phase in Gaza, including the composition of the so-called international committee and the deployment of international peacekeeping forces; second, the establishment of a Gaza autonomous authority, which involves whether Israel accepts the Palestinian National Authority or a demilitarized Hamas. 

Third, the steps for Israeli withdrawal and Gaza's security arrangements. Finally, whether a Gaza ceasefire can lead to the resumption of a new round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state and moving from temporary peace to lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, Tang Zhichao, director of the Centre of Development and Governance in the Middle East at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University, noted that the absence of both Israel and Hamas is, to a large extent, a strategic choice aimed at preventing the peace process from collapsing on the spot. It also indicates that the hostility between the two sides remains intense and cannot be eliminated in the short term, Nor will their antagonistic actions dissipate quickly. This remains a potential risk and a critical point of concern, Zhu told the Global Times.