Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that his country has achieved “huge victories” during two years of war with Hamas, which is preparing to release hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, just hours before the “Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit”.

In the evening, U.S. President Donald Trump headed to Israel and Egypt on a trip he described as “very special” as part of efforts to end the war in Gaza.

Onboard the presidential plane, Trump told reporters in response to a question about whether he was confident the conflict between Israel and Hamas would end, “The war is over. Okay? Do you understand that?”

The plan devised by Trump to stop the war includes the release of the remaining 47 hostages in Gaza out of 251 kidnapped in the October 7, 2023 attack, including twenty whom Israel believes are still alive, as well as the remains of a hostage held in 2014.

In return, Israel will release 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, and 1,700 detainees from Gaza held since the outbreak of the war.

Netanyahu said in a speech that the anticipated return of hostages held in the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip will be a “historic event,” adding, “Together we have achieved huge victories that amazed the whole world. And I want to tell you: wherever we fought, we won, but at the same time, I tell you the battle is not over.”

He continued, “We still face very significant security challenges. Some of our enemies are trying to recover to strike us again. But we will take care of them,” without further details.

According to a source familiar with the negotiations, Hamas has completed preparations to hand over the living hostages, but insisted that Israel release seven Palestinian leaders in the exchange process.

The source said, “Hamas insists that the final list includes the seven senior leaders, most notably Marwan Barghouti, Ahmed Saadat, Ibrahim Hamid, and Abbas Al-Sayed.”

Several Israeli hospitals are preparing to receive the released hostages, while Israeli prison authorities indicated the transfer of Palestinian prisoners to two prisons in preparation for their release.