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Trump questions if Blair will be part of Gaza peace team

Donald Trump has questioned whether former UK prime minister Tony Blair will serve on a new “board of peace” that is intended to oversee the governance of Gaza.

The US president’s comments come amid ongoing criticisms of Blair for his role in the Iraq war that began in 2003.

“I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody,” Trump said, without naming specific leaders who could be weighing in on his choice of Blair, Reuters is reporting.

The Gaza peace plan floated by the White House last month listed Blair as a member of the proposed board.

Former British PM Tony Blair. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/AP

Trump made his remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One during his flight to Israel, where he is scheduled to address its parliament on Monday.

Trump is also set to attend a world leaders’ summit in Egypt aimed at formally ending the Gaza war, as the ceasefire enters its fourth day.

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Updated at 22.03 EDT

The celebrity chef behind World Central Kitchen says the food aid charity has been busily preparing dinner for hostage families awaiting the return of their loved ones and has posted a picture online of the dining scene that awaits.

José Andrés also said in his post on X:

#ChefsForIsrael people in Gaza and Israel wants peace, respecting each other….is the only way! lets hope this is a new beginning for all! What is good for me must be good for you!

The @WCKitchen team were busy prepping dinner for the hostage families waiting for the loved ones to return home….#ChefsForIsrael people in Gaza and Israel wants peace, respecting each other….is the only way! lets hope this is a new beginning for all! What is good for me must… pic.twitter.com/lVfT0FqENd

— Chef José Andrés 🕊️🥘🍳 (@chefjoseandres) October 12, 2025Share

Updated at 21.50 EDT

Here are some of the latest pictures we’re seeing from Israel as the country readies for the return of its 20 remaining living hostages on Monday morning.

People sit and talk in front of a clock in Tel Aviv’s ‘Hostages Square’ on Monday counting the days the hostages have been in captivity. Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty ImagesIsraelis walk past a US flag in Jerusalem. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesEinav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker, reacts as Israeli president Isaac Herzog visits a site next to Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Sunday. Photograph: Stoyan Nenov/ReutersSoldiers near an installation of a tunnel at Hostages Square. Photograph: Stoyan Nenov/ReutersA girl painting signs in Hostages Square amid the ceasefire. Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty ImagesShare

Updated at 21.40 EDT

Here are some of the latest images coming in from Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have continued to travel north towards the ruins of Gaza City, where Israel has focused its attacks over the past two months.

“We couldn’t believe the destruction we have seen,” Rami Mohammad-Ali, 37, told Reuters by phone after walking 15 km (9.5 miles) with his son from Deir Al Balah to Gaza City

“We are joyful to return to Gaza [City] but at the same time we have bitter feelings about the destruction,” he said, describing seeing human remains scattered along roads.

On Saturday Gaza’s civil defence agency said more than 500,000 people had returned to Gaza City since the ceasefire took effect the previous day.

Palestinians pictured in Gaza City as they continue returning from the territory’s south to the north carrying whatever belongings they could.
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesPeople walking through the ruins of destroyed buildings in the Gaza City’s Al-Nafaq neighbourhood on Sunday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesPeople collecting water from a broken pipe amid Gaza City’s ruins. Photograph: Jehad Alshrafi/APPalestinians prepare facilities at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza as the health ministry began arrangements to receive hundreds of prisoners expected to be released by Israel. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesDisplaced Palestinians walk with their belongings along Gaza City’s heavily damaged Al-Jalaa Street. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/APShare

Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged controversy over his handling of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal but called for their imminent release to be a moment of unity.

“This is an emotional evening, an evening of tears, an evening of joy, because tomorrow our children will return to our borders,” the Israeli prime minister said on Sunday.

“Tomorrow is the beginning of a new path – a path of rebuilding, a path of healing, and, I hope, a path of united hearts,” he said in a televised address.

He also warned that “the campaign is not over,” adding:

There are still very great security challenges ahead of us.

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The Israeli government says it expects all living hostages held in Gaza to be freed on Monday morning and that it is preparing for the release of about 2,000 Palestinian detainees in the ceasefire deal’s crucial next phase, reports William Christou in Jerusalem.

“We are expecting all 20 of our living hostages to be released together at one time to the Red Cross and transported among six to eight vehicles,” Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said.

Hostages would be driven to a military base to see their families or to hospitals if medical care was needed. The remains of deceased hostages were expected to be sent to the national Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification.

An unnamed Hamas official told Al Jazeera that living hostages had been gathered in Gaza and the militant group would meet the Red Cross on Sunday night to agree the logistics of their release.

See our full report here:

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Updated at 20.43 EDT

Truce’s mediating nations to sign guarantee in Egypt – report

The mediating countries for the ceasefire deal on Gaza are to sign a document guaranteeing the agreement at Monday’s summit in Egypt, a diplomatic source has told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

“The signatories will be the guarantors – [the] US, Egypt, Qatar and likely Turkey,” the diplomat briefed on the signing ceremony said on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive arrangements.

The Egyptian foreign ministry said earlier that a document ending the war in Gaza was expected to be signed during the gathering hosted by the US and Egypt.

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Updated at 21.35 EDT

World leaders are gathering in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh for a “peace summit” aimed at finalising a permanent truce in Gaza.

Donald Trump will co-chair the summit with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi after the US president travels to Israel on Monday to address its parliament, the Knesset.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, would also attend the summit, an Axios reporter said on Sunday, citing a senior Palestinian official.

Iran confirmed it had been invited by Egypt but said it would not attend. Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X:

While favoring diplomatic engagement, neither President Pezeshkian nor I can engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People and continue to threaten and sanction us.

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Updated at 20.10 EDT

Thousands of Palestinians have continued to travel north towards the ruins of Gaza City amid the ceasefire as aid agencies worked to rush in more desperately needed aid to the territory.

UN officials said real progress was being made on Sunday – the third day of the truce holding – with the aid being allowed into Gaza

A spokesperson for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Eri Kaneko, said supplies of cooking gas had entered Gaza for the first time since March, the Associated Press reported.

Other aid moving through included flour, fruit and meat.

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid and fuel enter Gaza through the Karem Abu Salem crossing and reach Khan Yunis on Sunday under the ceasefire. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesShare

Updated at 19.49 EDT

Welcome summary

Donald Trump is en route to the Middle East after telling reporters the “war is over” and that he expects the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to hold.

The US president will meet families of the hostages in Israel before flying to Egypt for a “peace summit”.

It will be an eventful day. In Israel, families of the 20 remaining living hostages are preparing to welcome them home. Later on Monday, Israel will release about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. After that, the remains of some of the hostages who have died in Gaza are expected to be repatriated.

Follow us for all the latest news. In other developments:

• Israel expects all 20 living hostages to be released by Hamas on Monday at the same time. Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “Israel is prepared and is ready to immediately receive all of our hostages. The release of our hostages will begin early Monday morning.”

• Hamas is insisting seven Palestinian leaders should be freed in the hostage-prisoner swap, sources close to negotiators told Agence France-Presse.

• Leaders from more than 20 countries will attend a Gaza “peace summit” in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city Sharm el-Sheikh. The summit will finalise the agreement aimed at ending Israel’s war on Gaza.

• Trump departed late on Sunday to Jerusalem to speak at the Knesset – the Israeli parliament – roughly at the same time as the hostage-detainee swap is expected to happen, as well as meeting families of the hostages. He told reporters that “the war is over” in Gaza as he boarded Air Force One.

• After the hostages were freed, Israel was ready to release about 2,000 Palestinian detainees and receive the 28 hostages believed to be dead. US vice-president JD Vance told Fox News: “The reality is, some of the hostages we may never get back.”

• At least 67,806 Palestinian people have been killed and 170,066 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement today. Most of the people killed have been civilians, many of whom were women and children.

• Aid agencies said that, in line with the terms in the ceasefire agreement, they were preparing to “flood” Gaza with food and other essential supplies. Dozens of aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday amid hope for a surge in humanitarian relief.

• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped for a similar agreement to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire to put an end to the ongoing war between his own country and Russia.

• Thousands of Palestinians have continued to travel north towards the devastated Gaza City – the focus of Israeli attacks over the past two months – hopeful the ceasefire will bring an end to the war.

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Updated at 19.36 EDT