United States President Donald Trump has announced that Israeli captives held in Gaza by Hamas and other armed groups will be released on Monday, October 13, 2025, as part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, October 10, Trump described Monday as a “big” day, confirming that 20 living captives and the bodies of 28 others who died in captivity will be handed over in exchange for the release of approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
“Some of those bodies are being unearthed right now, as we speak. They’re working on it right now,” Trump said. “It’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy.”
The president revealed that the living captives are being held in “pretty rough places” and that retrieval efforts have been challenging. Despite the grim circumstances, he expressed optimism about the peace process, saying both sides are “tired of fighting.”
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas committed to releasing all captives within 72 hours of the truce taking effect. Israel ratified the deal early Friday, and its troops began pulling back from parts of Gaza later that day, triggering the countdown for the release.
Trump said he plans to travel to Cairo over the weekend and later address the Israeli Knesset before returning to the United States. He credited international partners, including the European Union, Iran, and Russia, for supporting the peace framework, describing it as a “beautiful thing.”
“This is peace in the Middle East, and it’s a beautiful thing,” Trump said, adding that the deal could extend “beyond Gaza” as part of a broader regional effort to end years of conflict.
As Palestinians cautiously return to their devastated homes, questions remain about Gaza’s future governance and the possibility of a Palestinian state emerging from the ceasefire’s aftermath.
