Fears are escalating regarding the retrieval of all deceased Israeli hostages, as Hamas faces a deadline to return 28 bodies along with 20 living captives under a ceasefire deal brokered by Donald Trump. The US President, who described the situation as a ‘tragedy’ as some bodies are being ‘unearthed,’ is expected to arrive in Jerusalem to address the Knesset and visit freed hostages before heading to Egypt for discussions on Gaza’s future with numerous world leaders.

The ceasefire agreement, which constitutes the first phase of a broader peace plan, mandates Hamas to return the hostages by midday tomorrow (Sunday in some reports, Monday in others, but generally imminent) local time. Failure to comply risks complicating subsequent phases and prolonging the anguish of families awaiting their loved ones for burial. To address this, a multinational task force involving Israel, the US, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt is being established to locate unreturned bodies.

This peace initiative is part of a 20-point plan calling for Israel to maintain an open-ended military presence within and along Gaza’s border, with an international force, primarily from Arab and Muslim countries, overseeing internal security. Approximately 200 US troops have been dispatched to Israel to oversee the transition and coordinate humanitarian aid, though no American forces will be deployed on the ground in Gaza. Israeli forces have partially withdrawn, now controlling about 53% of the territory.

The humanitarian situation remains critical despite the ceasefire. Aid agencies, including Unicef and UNRWA, are preparing for a significant scale-up in aid deliveries, with hopes that all Israeli crossings into Gaza will reopen to allow around 600 truckloads of food and medical supplies daily. The Rafah crossing, a vital point between Gaza and Egypt, is expected to reopen in both directions. Many Palestinians, numbering over 500,000 in Gaza City alone, have begun returning to the devastated ruins of their homes, finding only rubble and expressing profound sadness over their lost memories and livelihoods. Concerns about famine and disease persistence highlight the urgency of aid efforts, while the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, previously criticized as a “sadistic death trap,” appears to be winding down.

The deal also entails Israel releasing roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving long sentences and 1,700 captured during the war. Hamas and other Palestinian groups, however, have jointly rejected any ‘foreign guardianship’ over Gaza, putting into jeopardy plans for a transitional ‘Board of Peace’ that could involve figures like former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Sir Tony Blair’s potential role has raised concerns in the UK over multi-million-pound security costs, with plans for elite British bodyguards and special forces already drawn up by the Ministry of Defence, given his unpopularity in the Middle East and the significant security challenges in Gaza.

Meanwhile, political tensions flared, with pro-Palestine protesters in central London shouting ‘death, death to the IDF’ and ‘from the river to the sea’ just hours before the first hostages were due for release. Demonstrators also defaced an RAF memorial and compared Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Fourteen arrests were made, including for supporting a proscribed group. Cross-bench peer Lord Walney condemned the chants as anti-Semitic, arguing they use the IDF as a proxy for Jewish people.

The wider context of the conflict includes the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, and Israel’s subsequent offensive, which has resulted in over 67,000 Palestinian deaths and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. Recent events include Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemning Israeli overnight strikes in southern Lebanon, which killed one and injured seven, despite a prior peace deal with Hezbollah.

Amidst these developments, the personal stories of hostages resonate. Noa Argamani, a freed hostage who became a symbol of the October 7 attack, returned to Israel eagerly awaiting her boyfriend Avinatan Or’s release. She pledged to dedicate her life to bringing all hostages home. In a tragic turn, Roei Shalev, a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre, took his own life after struggling with the death of his girlfriend, Mapal Adam, on October 7, and his mother’s suicide days after the attack.

An international peace summit, co-chaired by Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, is set to convene in Sharm el-Sheikh with leaders from over 20 countries, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who will pay tribute to Trump’s diplomatic efforts. The summit aims to end the war, enhance peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security. Hamas has stated it will not participate in the summit. The overall deal, described by Trump as a “great deal for everybody” and for “peace in the Middle East,” also requires Hamas to fully disarm and be excluded from future governance roles, though those agreeing to peaceful co-existence would receive amnesty. It emphasizes that Palestinians will not be forced to leave Gaza, but instead offered the opportunity to rebuild.