Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt : A new chapter in Middle East peace efforts unfolded on Monday as all surviving hostages held in Gaza were freed under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The agreement, hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump as the “dawn of a new Middle East,” was signed at a high-level summit in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
The long-awaited exchange brought an emotional close to two years of hostilities that began with the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks.
Under the accord, Hamas released the last 20 surviving Israeli hostages, while Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and over 1,700 Gaza detainees held without charge.
The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that four coffins containing the remains of deceased hostages were also handed over to Israeli authorities.
Scenes of joy and sorrow played out across Israel and the Palestinian territories as families were reunited after years of anguish.
In Tel Aviv, freed hostages embraced relatives in hospital wards, while in Gaza and the West Bank, crowds cheered buses carrying released Palestinian detainees home.
One particularly emotional reunion came when 29-year-old Arbel Yehoud embraced her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, after more than two years apart.
Both were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz in 2023. “My Ariel is home again, and I am overwhelmed with emotion and joy,” Yehoud said. “The hope of holding him again is what sustained me every single day.”
At hospitals across Israel, medical teams said they were prioritizing physical and psychological care for the freed captives.
Dr. Daniel Trotzky of Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center said the survivors’ conditions were stable but that “the road to recovery will be long.” Special wards have been created to provide a homelike atmosphere and trauma counseling.
Meanwhile, leaders from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the U.S. signed the ceasefire agreement alongside Israel during the summit in Egypt’s “City of Peace.”
The document, which calls for “tolerance, dignity, and equal opportunity for all people,” commits the signatories to long-term stability, reconstruction, and humanitarian access in Gaza.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who hosted the summit, praised Trump for his leadership, describing him as “the only one capable of ending the war.”
Sisi announced that Egypt and Jordan are already training Palestinian police officers in preparation for post-war reconstruction, urging European nations to assist in rebuilding Gaza.
President Trump told reporters that the ceasefire deal marks “one of the toughest, yet most important achievements” of his administration. “We had an amazing array of talent from all sides,” he said, hinting that “phase two” of his 20-point Middle East peace plan has already begun.
Former U.S. officials, including ex-Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice, credited Trump and his team for securing the breakthrough.
Others, such as Antony Blinken, noted that the deal built on groundwork laid by the previous administration.
Across Gaza, jubilation filled the streets of Khan Younis as buses carrying freed Palestinian detainees were met with cheering crowds and family reunions.
Egyptian President Sisi summed up the mood in a social media post: “Enough with war — welcome to peace.”
The Sharm El-Sheikh summit — attended by over 20 world leaders including those from France, the UK, Qatar, and Germany — concluded with a call for sustained humanitarian access, reconstruction of Gaza, and continued dialogue under U.S. mediation.
For now, families on both sides are clinging to a fragile but tangible hope — that this ceasefire will hold and that the painful years of conflict and captivity may finally give way to peace and rebuilding in the Middle East.