US President Donald Trump received at Ben Gurion Airport by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu/courtesy
As part of his efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire, Trump is making a brief visit to the Middle East on Monday, holding meetings with officials and hostage families in Israel.
"Welcome to the state of Israel, Mr. President," the Ben Gurion Airport control tower said, according to the White House. "Your visit carries deep meaning for people in this time. Thank you for your friendship and unbreakable bond between our nations. God bless America and God bless Israel."
He will then take part in a “peace summit” in Egypt, which is expected to be attended by officials from about 20 countries, including the UK, France, Turkey and Spain, as well as EU and UN officials.
Already, Israel has received the first seven captives released by Hamas and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal.
Thirteen more living captives are due to be released later today. The hostages are due to be exchanged for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israeli Broadcasting Authority has confirmed that the Red Cross has received the remaining 13 living Israeli captives and they will soon be handed over to the custody of the Israeli military.
As Trump disembarked from Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, a convoy of vehicles carried into Israel the first hostages released by Hamas as part of the deal.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted Trump on the tarmac as a military band played.
The last time US presidential plane Air Force One was in Israel was shortly after the October 7, 2023, attacks, when then-president Joe Biden arrived on a solidarity visit.
In Hostages Square in Tel Aviv – the site of continuous demonstrations during two years of war – the crowd cheered for Trump.
The first phase of the cease-fire agreement calls for the release of the final 48 hostages held by Hamas; the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel; a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza; and a partial pullback by Israeli forces from Gaza’s main cities.
Israel’s foreign ministry named the released hostages as Alon Ohel, Eitan Mor, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Ziv Berman, Gali Berman, Omri Miran and Matan Angrest.
If completed as planned, the Financial Times states, the exchange, which will also include the return of the bodies of 28 dead hostages, would mark a big — but not conclusive — step towards ending the deadliest chapter in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The family of Omri Miran, one of the seven Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Monday, has released a statement after he was handed over to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.
"After more than 700 long, painful, and agonising days, Omri will finally receive from Roni and Alma a healing embrace," Miran's family said. "We want to thank the people of Israel from the bottom of our hearts for standing by us in the darkest hours and on days when this moment seemed like a distant and impossible wish. This moment, today, is not a personal victory but a victory of an entire people."
"We also want to express our deep gratitude to the security forces and the heroic IDF soldiers. We are at the beginning of a complex and challenging, yet moving, journey of recovery," the statement continued. "We remain committed to the struggle -- until the last hostage returns, and until the complete recovery of our beloved country. May Omri's return mark the beginning of this recovery and the unity of our people."
