People in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square cheered Monday as a massive television screen showed Air Force One landing in the country.

Someone shouted over the loud speaker in the square: “Thank you, President Trump!”

Air Force One touched down Monday at Ben Gurion Airport, not far from Jerusalem, as President Trump arrived for a visit to mark the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas and to deliver remarks to the country’s assembled lawmakers in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

President Trump, who is expected to arrive momentarily in Israel, claimed decisively on Sunday that the war in Gaza is over.

“The war is over,”  he told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Tel Aviv. “The war is over, okay? Do you understand that?”

When asked if he thinks the ceasefire will hold, he said, “I think so. I think it’s going to hold.” 

“I think people are, a lot of reasons why it’s going to hold, but I think people are tired of it,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump said “over the years,” Gaza will look “very good,” but provided no other details.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a social media post that the first seven hostages released by Hamas “have now crossed the border into Israeli territory with IDF and Shin Bet forces.”  

They were on their way to an “initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will reunite with their families,” the military said in a statement.

President Trump boarded Air Force One on Sunday afternoon to head to the Middle East.

In a brief remark to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the president said, “So this is going to be a very special time.” 

“In Israel and also the Muslim and Arab countries are all cheering,” Mr. Trump said. He did not take any questions.

He’s set to arrive in Tel Aviv early Monday along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe and other administration officials.

Mr. Trump is expected to meet with families of Israeli hostages before delivering a speech to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem. He then will travel to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, for the international peace summit.

— Kathryn Watson, Kiki Intarasuwan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed in a statement on Monday the identities of the first seven living hostages released by Hamas under the peace plan brokered by President Trump.

The statement said the families of Ohel Alon, Angrest Matan, Berman Gali, Berman Ziv, Gilboa-Dalal Guy, Mor Eitan and Miran Omri “have been informed by the authorized authorities that they have joined our forces in the Gaza Strip and will soon make their way to Israeli territory.”

The Israeli military has confirmed that the first group of seven living hostages has been transferred from the Red Cross to Israeli personnel inside Gaza, and they “are now making their way to Israeli territory.”

The seven were to undergo immediate medical checks upon reaching Israeli territory, the Israel Defense Forces said in a social media post.

“The commanders and soldiers of the IDF salute and embrace the returning hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel,” the IDF said.

“According to information received from the Red Cross now, seven abductees have been transferred to them, and they are making their way to the IDF and Shin Bet forces in the Gaza Strip,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a social media post on Monday, indicating the first step was complete for the initial group of hostages to be transferred out of Hamas custody. 

“The IDF is prepared to absorb additional abductees who will be transferred to the Red Cross later,” the IDF said.

Israel’s military said early Monday that Red Cross vehicles were headed to a meeting point in northern Gaza to meet “a number of hostages”  set to be handed over by Hamas.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a social media post that it was “prepared to absorb additional hostages who will be transferred to the Red Cross later.”

It is expected that the remaining hostages — 20 of the total 48 of whom are believed to be alive — will be handed over in at least two separate groups.

Dozens, if not hundreds of Israelis were gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square ahead of the expected return of the remaining hostages on Monday morning.

Waving Israeli flags and singing, the crowd gathered before dawn and continued to grow throughout the morning. As the sun was rising, many sang together and waved Israeli flags.

The release of the hostages still being held in Gaza is expected to begin around 8 a.m. local time, 1 a.m. ET, according to a source familiar with the matter. A second round of hostages is then set to be released around 10 a.m. local time, 3 a.m. ET, the source said. 

The two sets of hostages are being released from different locations within Gaza, the source said.

Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, which is located in Ramat Gan, outside of Tel Aviv, and is expected to receive hostages after they are released, noted that they may not arrive there until mid- to late morning at the earliest.

— Michal Ben-Gal, Jordan Freiman

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Sunday that Egypt is “confident that the first phase of the Trump peace plan will be implemented” and will be honored by all parties involved. 

“We are very hopeful that the first phase will be completed, in all honesty, from the two parties, and we are in full contact with the Palestinians, with the Hamas,” Abdelatty told “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” 

Abdelatty confirmed that Egypt will be sending troops to Gaza “within specific parameters.” He also said that Egypt supports the deployment of international troops into Gaza for security and stabilization.

“We are confident, though we have to draw lessons from the past, that without solving the Palestinian cause, which is the core of the conflict in the region, without respecting the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians to have their own statehood, you know, there is no peace and stability in the region,” Abdelatty said. 

Abdelatty indicated that President Trump’s peace plan referred to Palestinian statehood, although the final version of the plan is unclear on Palestinian statehood. 

Watch Margaret Brennan’s full interview with Abdelatty here. 

Alana Zeitchik, a relative of Israeli hostage David Cunio, said she is “nervous” about the condition he will be in when he is freed from captivity.

Cunio’s wife, Sharon Aloni Cunio, and his twin daughters were held captive by Hamas and released in November 2023.

Zeitchik said Cunio’s wife received guidance on how to tell her daughters that their father is coming home and that they were “in shock” after hearing the news.

Zeitchik told The Associated Press: “We won’t really be able to exhale and have a sigh of relief until he is back on Israeli soil.”

Tens of thousands of Palestinians began their trek back to the heavily destroyed northern Gaza Strip over the weekend after the ceasefire deal went into effect.

A steady stream of people, many on foot, crammed onto a coastal road in the central Gaza Strip, heading north to see what might remain of their homes. It was a repeat of emotional scenes from an earlier ceasefire in January.

Palestinians expressed relief that the war may end, though they are tempered with concerns about the future and lingering pain from the staggering death and destruction.

“There wasn’t much joy, but the ceasefire somewhat eased the pain of death and bloodshed, and the pain of our loved ones and brothers who suffered in the war,” Jamal Mesbah, who was displaced from the north, told the AP.

The destruction they find this time will be even greater, after Israel waged a new offensive in Gaza City, in the north, in recent weeks.

—CBS/AP