The Palestinian group Hamas released seven live Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip on the morning of Oct. 13, following a U.S.-brokered deal, Bloomberg reported. This was part of a broader plan to end the war.

The freed hostages were transported from Gaza by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and then handed over to the Israeli army. According to the Israeli authorities, another 13 captives are due to be released later in the day.

The hostage recovery operation came just hours before US President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East, timed to coincide with a ceasefire agreement brokered last week by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the US. Trump will address the Israeli parliament on Monday morning before traveling to Egypt for a signing ceremony with world leaders on the Gaza settlement.

Under the terms of the agreement, after the release of the hostages, Israel must release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of them former Hamas members sentenced to life terms. In addition, Israel withdrew its troops from most of the densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip and promised to increase humanitarian supplies to the region. Hamas has also pledged to hand over the bodies of more than two dozen dead hostages, but Israeli officials warn the process could take time. A joint working group involving the U.S., Israel, Qatar, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey is planned to search for the missing hostages.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor

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