US President Donald Trump said that the hostages are getting released on Monday or Tuesday in his first address to media on Thursday since the Gaza deal agreement was announced.
“We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages, and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday,” he said during a press conference ahead of a cabinet meeting. "We ended the war in Gaza."
“Getting them is a complicated process. I’d rather not tell you what they have to do to get them. There are places you don’t want to be, but we are getting the hostages back on Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday, and that’ll be a day of joy.”
The US president then confirmed that he would address the Knesset on Sunday.
Trump announced early on Thursday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Trump told reporters on Thursday that he would attend a second signing of the deal in Egypt, which he believes will lead to "lasting peace" in the region.
Trump to attend deal signing in Egypt
This comes after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi extended an invitation to President Trump to celebrate the agreement in Egypt, "considering it a historic agreement that crowns the joint efforts of Egypt, the United States, and the mediators over the past period."
He added that he believed that the attack on Iran was important to the deal.
The agreement was announced after intensive talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, where US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner pushed the two parties to an agreement, along with Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.