Israel-Hamas live updates: Families wait for hostage release as aid agencies prepare to deliver relief

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Egypt for a peace conference and will attend the signing ceremony of the peace plan for Gaza, 10 Downing Street said in a statement today.

Starmer will travel to Egypt to attend the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit on Monday, the government said.

The Gaza deal signing was called “a historic turning point for the region after two years of conflict and bloodshed.”

“The Prime Minister will pay particular tribute to the leadership of President Trump and the diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye in bringing us to this point,” the statement said.

“He will then call for continued international coordination to secure swift progress towards Phase 2 of the plan, which includes the decommissioning of Hamas, the deployment of a ceasefire monitoring mission, an International Security Force and the implementation of transitional governance arrangements in Gaza,” it said.

“He will offer the UK’s steadfast support and engagement with international partners as we look to secure the ceasefire, get urgently needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza and secure a basis for a lasting peace and security.”

crowds and vehicles filled a coastal road today as displaced Palestinians traveled north in the Gaza Strip, taking advantage of the ceasefire to return to their homes.

At least 125 bodies were transferred to hospitals in the Gaza Strip today, many of them recovered from under rubble, and one person who was shot by Israeli forces in Khan Younis, Dr. Khalil Al-Daqran, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Ministry of Health, told NBc News.

The Old city of East Jerusalem was packed with people earlier today, as groups of tourists strolled around the church of the Holy Sepulchre and the cafes in the christian Quarter.

Shops around the Old city were also lively as Jews gathered for Shabbat prayers, while Greek Orthodox christians led their usual procession.

Trump's name drew a chorus of applause tonight as Witkoff, Kushner and Ivanka Trump each praised the his role in securing a ceasefire.

A former top Israeli security official expressed doubts that the ceasefire plan will proceed to its “second phase” but said it “is probably the best possible deal” Israel can secure right now.

“If this [first] phase is implemented successfully, then we might be able to say that at the end of the day we achieved something good,” Giora Eiland, a former IDF general who attends regular briefings with security officials, told NBc News. “But I don’t think it is going to happen, this second phase.”

The first phase of the Trump-negotiated ceasefire plan is set to end Monday at noon, with Hamas' complete surrender of about 48 living and dead hostages and the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Longer-term agreements in the so-called second phase — such as Hamas’ potential disarmament, Gaza’s future governance and interim security responsibilities — have been left to future negotiations.

Witkoff handed the microphone to Kushner, who said he "couldn't be prouder to be a friend of Israel."

An emotional Kushner called for lasting peace in the Middle East and thanked the crowd for their efforts to bring the hostages home.

He handed the microphone to his wife, Ivanka, who drew huge cheers upon mentioning her father's name.

“God bless you all for standing in solidarity together through this dark chapter,” she said.

Witkoff, Kushner and Ivanka Trump then departed the stage to the sound of cheers thanking Donald Trump.

Steve Witkoff finished his speech with a clear message to the hostages remaining in Gaza.

"You are coming home," he shouted.

Witkoff also expressed a debt of deep gratitude to President Donald Trump, whose name drew cheers once again.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's name drew huge boos from a crowd at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv during a speech by Steve Witkoff, the United States' special envoy to the Middle East.

"Let me just finish my thought," Witkoff pleaded with the crowd, as the chorus of boos continued as the special envoy tried to thank Netanyahu for his contribution.

"I was in the trenches with the prime minister. Believe me, he was a very important part here," Witkoff added.

Many hostage supporters and family members have criticized Netanyahu for not securing their release earlier.

Trump's name drew huge applause on two occasions, as well as chants of "Thank you, Trump."

A banner reading "Nobel President Trump" is displayed in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, today.

Special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said he "dreamed of this night" as he addressed a massive crowd from a platform in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.

"We stand here tonight, Jews, christians, Muslims and people from every corner of the world, united by one shared prayer, for peace," he told the crowd.

This is a peace "born not out of politics, but of courage," he added. "The courage of those who refuse to give up help."

Witkoff, standing beside Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his daughter Ivanka Trump, drew huge applause as he mentioned the president's name.

"You have carried the weight of your shoulders on the entire world," he said.

Six-hundred humanitarian aid trucks operated by the United Nations, international organizations, the private sector and donor countries will enter Gaza as the flow of aid resumes following the ceasefire agreement, an Israeli security official told NBc News.

The trucks will carry food, medical equipment, shelter supplies and fuel for essential operations. Israeli officials dramatically reduced or stopped aid deliveries into the devastated enclave during the war. Two months ago, the world’s leading body on hunger declared a famine in parts of northern Gaza.

Under the Hamas-Israel agreement, essential equipment will also be permitted to enter Gaza to repair critical infrastructure like water lines, sewage systems and bakeries.

A U.N. spokesperson told reporters yesterday that supplies have started flowing through the Kerem Shalom crossing, at the intersection of Egypt, Israel and Gaza.

An official with the European Union mission that monitors the Rafah crossing, between Gaza and Egypt, said yesterday that preparations are underway for its eventual reopening. The crossing will be opened in two directions, Italian Defense Minister Guido crosetto said in a statement.

Two top U.S. officials and President Donald Trump's daugher Ivanka are currently meeting with hostage families, a group representing the families said in a statement.

Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were "received with applause by the family members," the group said.

Witkoff is set to speak at tonight's weekly rally at Hostages Square rally, where he will appear alongside Kushner.

Former hostage Noa Argamani is also at the rally, according to Israeli media.

With preparations underway to step up the flow of aid into Gaza, questions remain over how aid groups will divide the workload and who exactly will be involved, and when.

OcHA, the U.N.’s humanitarian agency, says its aid deliveries currently remain at pre-ceasefire levels, but that it expects the scale-up to happen "imminently."

"We have the priorities set out for the next 60 days," Olga cherevko, a spokesperson for OcHA in Gaza, told NBc News, adding that the group would target "vulnerable groups" with food, medicine and shelter.

For this to happen, she said, OcHA needs "unrestricted entry of aid, but also other supplies as well as additional crossings."

cherevko said the situation in Gaza could not be resolved "just through humanitarian assistance," saying that other actors on the ground and bilateral assistance would also play a part.

"If it was just up to us, we would never be able to resolve it," she added.

But cherevko didn't know if the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which began distributing aid in the enclave in late May, would be part of the plans, or whether its sites were still operating in the strip.

Thousands of Israeli prison officers operated throughout the night to prepare for the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to a prison service spokesperson.

National security prisoners were transferred to the deportation facilities at the "Ofer" and "Ktzi’ot" prisons, the spokesperson said.

Operations were carried out "to enable the return of the hostages to Israel," it added.

The air here in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv feels electric — charged with excitement, anticipation and a sense of history in the making.

For two years, crowds have rallied here on Saturdays, calling for the release of the remaining hostages from Gaza. But today's is expected to be the busiest yet, as it may well be the last.

Preparations are underway to implement the first phase of the deal agreed upon between Israel and Hamas.

After Israel accepted the terms of a ceasefire, a 72-hour deadline went into effect for Hamas to arrange the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza. The deadline expires at noon local time (5 a.m. ET) on Monday.

Forty-eight Israeli hostages, 20 of whom Israel says it believes are still alive, are expected to be released by this deadline, with hospitals readying to receive them. Israel preparing to release 250 Palestinian prisoners as part of the exchange.

President Donald Trump is expected to visit Israel on Monday and address the country's parliament, the Knesset. He will then travel to Egypt to participate in a signing ceremony on the Gaza peace deal.

Preparations are also underway to step up the flow of aid into Gaza, with the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt expected to reopen next week, allowing more aid into Gaza and enabling some Palestinians to leave the enclave.

The World Food Programme said today it has begun scaling up its operations in Gaza as the ceasefire paves the way for international aid groups to resume operations in the strip.

"With full access, WFP intends to restore its regular food distribution system," it said on X, adding that "humanitarian needs in Gaza have never been greater."

The WFP said in a statement that "over 170,000 metric tons of food" was ready for dispatch or en route "via Ashdod, Egypt, Jordan, and the West Bank corridors."

"That’s enough staple food to feed the entire Gaza population of more than two million people for up to three months," it said, while calling "unhindered humanitarian access."

The head of the U.S. military's central command insisted Saturday after visiting the enclave that no U.S. troops will be deployed in Gaza.

Adm. Brad cooper said on X that he had "just returned from a visit inside Gaza" to discuss the creation of a "centcom-led civil-Military coordination center" that will "support post-conflict stabilization."

"This great effort will be achieved with no U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza," he said.

The U.S. is expected to deploy as many as 200 U.S. troops to Israel to support stabilization in Gaza and the flow of humanitarian aid and security assistance into the enclave, two U.S. officials familiar with the planning said earlier this week, but the troops will stay in Israel, where they will support logistics.

Drone video captured the extent of damage and destruction in Gaza city as displaced Palestinians returned home following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Around 500,000 Palestinians are believed to have returned to the north in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire came into effect, Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the civil Defense agency in the enclave told NBc News.

Basal said tens of thousands of people still appeared to be moving north in recent hours, with many looking to return to their homes, or what remains of them, and to be reunited with loved ones. Others will be searching for those feared to have been killed or missing.

The civil Defense spokesman said heavy equipment and shelter supplies were needed to accommodate the vast numbers of people moving north.

As many as 10,000 people were feared to still be buried under the rubble in Gaza, with rescue crews focusing on trying to recover the bodies, he said. More than 200 bodies had been recovered following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, he said, but search efforts were difficult due to a lack of heavy equipment to help shift the rubble.

Medical teams at an Israeli hospital awaiting the arrival of hostages expected to be released from Gaza are "prepared for anything," Noa Eliakim Raz, head of the Returning Hostages Unit at the Rabin Medical center-Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, told NBc News.

Eliakim Raz said doctors were preparing for the possibility that hostages returning to Israel could be suffering from malnutrition and require the careful reintroduction of food, adding: "We're a very experienced hospital. We think every medical situation can be managed."

In August, the world’s leading body on hunger declared famine in areas of northern Gaza, including Gaza city, as deaths from starvation in the enclave rose after Israel launched a blockade barring the entry of aid. Netanyahu has previously accused Hamas of intentionally starving hostages.

Eliakim Raz said that recovery can be a lengthy process, explaining that the hospital had been involved in treating several hostages released from Gaza during the last ceasefire. "I'm very connected to the returning hostages that we had here," she said, adding: "We're still doing rehabilitation together."

President Donald Trump is expected to travel to Israel on Sunday evening and will address the Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday, according to a White House official.

After that, he will travel to Egypt to participate in a signing ceremony on the Gaza peace deal, the official said. Trump is also planning to gather with other world leaders while there, but those details are still being finalized.

The president is then expected to return to Washington, D.c.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun has condemned Israel's strike in the country's south, calling the attack a "blatant aggression against civilian facilities."

Israel said it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure when it launched the attack, which Lebanese health officials said killed at least one person and injured several others.

In a statement, Aoun said the attack was carried out "without justification or even a pretext," as he questioned the assault's timing, unfolding after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was agreed to.

"This raises fundamental challenges for us as Lebanese and for the international community," he said, adding: "Among them is the question of whether there are those who are contemplating compensating for Gaza in Lebanon to ensure their need for the sustainability of political profiteering through fire and killing."

Hundreds of Palestinians continued to return to northern Gaza the day after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, with photos showing families returning to devastated areas largely reduced to rubble this morning. In Gaza city, where Israeli forces had launched a sweeping ground offensive in a bid to take over the city, buildings could be seen largely destroyed, with the ground covered in rubble as people carried what few possessions they had to the area.

Thousands of people began making their way toward the north from areas across the Gaza Strip as soon as the ceasefire came into effect yesterday at noon local time, or 5 a.m. ET. Many will be looking to return to their homes, or what remains of them, while others will be hoping to reunite with loved ones or search for those killed or missing under the rubble.

At least one person was killed and seven others injured in Israel's strike in southern Lebanon, the country's health ministry has said.

The IDF said earlier it had launched a strike in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, making clear that the ceasefire in Gaza did not mean an end to all operations in the region.

Lebanon's health ministry said the person killed in the strike was a Syrian national. It added that one Syrian national was among those injured, while six others were Lebanese, with two women among those hurt.

The IDF said it had succeeded in dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure. It added that it would continue to operate in order to remove "any threat posed to the State of Israel."

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the secretary-general of the United Nations, told reporters that fuel, medical supplies and other critical materials have started flowing through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

U.N. officials want Israel to open more border crossings and provide safe movement for aid workers and civilians who are returning to parts of Gaza that were under heavy fire until only recently.

In the last several months, the U.N. and its partners have been able to deliver only 20% of the aid needed in the Gaza Strip, according to U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a strike in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, clearly sending a message that a ceasefire in Gaza does not mean that the Israeli military is halting operations across the region.

"A short a while ago, the IDF struck and dismantled Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area of southern Lebanon, where engineering machinery used to reestablish terrorist infrastructure in the area they were located," the IDF said in a statement.

"The presence of the machinery and Hezbollah activity in the area constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF will continue to operate in order to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel," the statement added.

Displaced civilians returned to a landscape of rubble and ruins in Khan Younis as the Gaza ceasefire came into effect. "No signs of life are left," said one man. "Everything has been wiped out."

Trump expressed optimism about the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas at a gathering of reporters in the Oval Office. Asked about the ceasefire, Trump said, "I think it'll hold. Yeah, I think it'll hold. They’re all tired of the fighting."

Trump also said he will be speaking at the Knesset in Israel and will travel to Egypt.

Thousands of people could be seen moving north in Gaza after the ceasefire was announced today, and many will face scenes of destruction after Israel’s devastating two-year bombing campaign across the enclave.

Trump was also optimistic about the reconstruction of Gaza during the press gathering. "Gaza is going to be rebuilt, and you have some very wealthy countries, as you know, over there, and it would take a small fraction of their, their wealth to do that, but, and I think they want to do it," he said.

A senior Hamas official, Mousa Abu Marzouk, told Al Jazeera in an interview today that the Palestinian people will not be stripped of their weapons because they are under Israeli occupation. He did not explain whether that was the official position of the group.

The disarmament of Hamas is a key part of the peace plan that Trump has proposed and will likely be one of the most difficult issues to resolve in any future negotiations.

Marzouk also said that Israel has not violated the ceasefire deal, but the Israeli military still controls over 50% of Gaza’s territory, and that will not be acceptable in the future.

Displaced people in Gaza were hopeful and wary after a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel began.

Hannin Musa told NBc News that despite all the loss and destruction in Gaza, she is happy about the ceasefire.

“Because we still survive,” Musa said. “Palestinians deserve life and nothing but happiness is appropriate for them.”

Musa explained that returning home is not easy for Palestinians in Gaza, where homes have been razed and essentials like water and food are unavailable.

Musa was also skeptical about the ceasefire deal and whether it will “guarantee justice.”

“We need guarantee all of them adhere to the terms of the plan,” she said.

Ahmad Al Khatib expressed the same skepticism about the ceasefire, saying there have been previous agreements that Israel did not adhere to.

Al Khatib had a message for Trump, whose efforts to secure the deal he said he appreciates.

“We need some guarantees, please, we need some guarantees,” he said.