Israelis applaud Trump at a rally ahead of the hostage release by Hamas in Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv, ahead of the expected release of Israeli hostages by Hamas.

Addressing the crowd, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said the hostages had “returned home” and praised US President Donald Trump for making the Gaza ceasefire and hostage return agreement possible.

In Gaza, Palestinian officials said that about 500,000 people had returned to northern Gaza – which was under rubble – during the past two days, after the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Meanwhile, Egypt confirmed that it will host a summit on Monday to finalize an agreement aimed at ending the war.

An Egyptian presidential spokesman said that more than 20 leaders, including Trump, will attend the summit in Sharm El-Sheikh. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer His travel to Egypt was confirmed on Monday.

Trump is expected to visit Israel on Monday before heading to Egypt. His daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner also gave speeches at the Tel Aviv rally on Saturday.

Under the ceasefire and hostage release agreement announced on Thursday, Hamas was given 72 hours – until 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday – to release all 48 hostages it still holds after two years of war, 20 of whom are presumed to be alive.

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan told Agence France-Presse, “According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange process is scheduled to begin on Monday morning as agreed upon, and there are no new developments in this regard.”

He added that Hamas fighters on the ground have not yet notified the movement’s leadership about the logistical matters related to the handover.

Aviv Havron, whose family members were killed and others kidnapped in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, told the BBC in Tel Aviv: “It is very important for the community… that they return. Without this, we cannot resume our lives.”

“My sisters and two of my brothers were killed. Seven members of my family were kidnapped – my eldest sister, her daughter and her grandchildren were kidnapped. There are still four bodies of members of the Be’eri community in Gaza.”

Shulamit and David Genat, who also attended the demonstration in Tel Aviv, told the BBC that all hostages must be rescued.

“They are our brothers and sisters. We want to heal again. We want to stop the war, stop the pain and heal again,” Shulamit said.

Many in the crowd chanted, “Thank you, Trump!” — but he also booed when Witkoff mentioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking immediately afterward, the couple said they were angry with him for the failure to prevent the October 7 attack, the war, and the failure to bring the hostages home sooner.

“He wants to continue the war only because he wants to remain prime minister,” David said.

In Gaza, Hamas summoned thousands of fighters to reassert its control over areas of Gaza from which Israeli forces recently withdrew, according to local sources.

The Hamas mobilization was widely expected amid growing uncertainty over who will rule Gaza once the war ends and fears of internal violence. There were also reports of armed clashes between Hamas and Gaza tribes.

Displaced Palestinians continued to move north into Gaza in large numbers, in many cases arriving to find their homes destroyed.

“There is no house anymore. Everything is gone,” lawyer Musa Al-Dous said by phone from Gaza City.

Raja Salmi, 52, told AFP that she arrived in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City to find that her house had also been destroyed.

“I stood in front of him and cried,” she said. “All those memories are now just dust.”

Under the terms of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement, the amount of aid entering Gaza is set to increase, but the World Food Program told the BBC that a significant increase in aid trucks “has not yet entered” Gaza, with only two or three trucks reported entering the Strip daily.

With full access, the World Food Programme, a UN agency, said it intends to restore its usual food distribution system and boost aid through 145 distribution points across Gaza.

The Coordination Body of Government Activities (COGAT), the Israeli military body that oversees the entry of aid into Gaza, said 500 trucks entered on Thursday, about 300 of which were distributed inside Gaza by the United Nations and other organizations.

A recent report by the world’s leading Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), supported by the United Nations, estimates that 500,000 people in Gaza – a quarter of the Strip’s population – are suffering from famine.

Israel has repeatedly denied there is a famine in Gaza, and Netanyahu has said that where there is hunger, the fault lies with aid agencies and Hamas.

About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Israel responded by launching a military attack that killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Strip.