Israel awaits full hostage release as Trump preps for Mideast trip
by Adam Schrader · UPIOct. 12 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is ready to receive the remaining hostages at any time as it prepares for an exchange of captives expected to happen Monday morning.
"Israel is prepared and ready to immediately receive all of our hostages," Netanyahu said in a statement published by his office.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday that the Israeli captives could be released "at any moment."
"It really should be any moment now," Vance said. "The president of the United States is planning to travel to the Middle East to greet the hostages Monday morning, Middle Eastern time, which should be late, you know, Sunday night, or very early Monday morning here in the United States."
The Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday that officials were still finishing preparations for the medical examination of freed Palestinian captives held by Israel at the Nasser Medical Complex.
Saraya Al-Quds, the militant wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, said Friday that Palestinian resistance groups would release 20 living Israeli captives and the bodies of another 28 people in exchange for 1,700 captives imprisoned by Israel. That number is expected to include about 250 "security prisioners."
The office of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced Saturday that an international summit would be held in Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday afternoon that would be co-chaired by him and President Donald Trump.
"The summit aims to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability," the Egyptian presidency said in the statement.
"This summit comes in light of U.S. President Trump's vision for achieving peace in the region and his relentless efforts to end conflicts around the world."
As Palestinians in Gaza begin to return to the wreckage of their homes, the death toll from the war has continued to grow. Health officials in the enclave have recovered the bodies of some 117 people killed by Israeli attacks in the past day, the Quds News Network, a Palestinian youth news agency, reported Sunday while citing the Gaza Health Ministry.
Even as Israel and Hamas prepare for the exchange of captives, Israeli forces on Sunday detained Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank, according to the WAFA News agency. They were prevented from harvesting olives on their own land.
Khaled al-Qaddumi, Hamas' representative in Tehran, said Sunday that Palestinian resistance groups would not disarm after the ceasefire, according to Iranian state media.
"The resistance is present in the field with weapons in hand and will be present until the last inch of our land is liberated," al-Quddumi said. "Hamas is alive as long as Palestinian children raise the flag of freedom and victory."
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces said Sunday that it had "eliminated" a Hezbollah "terrorist threat," accusing the Lebanese political party of seeking to reestablish its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
A strike in Lebanon was condemned Sunday by UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping agency in Lebanon, which said the Israeli strike had occurred just before noon on Saturday and had injured a U.N. peacekeeper. The attack happened despite a ceasefire reached between Israel and Hezbollah last year.
"An Israeli drone dropped a grenade that exploded near a UNIFIL position in Kafer Kela. One peacekeeper was lightly injured and received medical assistance," UNIFIL said.
"Before the grenade was dropped, peacekeepers had observed two drones flying near their position. This is the second IDF grenade attack on peacekeepers this month. It represents another serious violation of resolution 1701 and concerning disregard for the safety of peacekeepers implementing their mandate from the Security Council."