Donald Trump says he wants to rebuild Gaza, but hasn’t committed to a Palestinian state. He spoke after Hamas freed all 20 living hostages, while Israel released almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees – as world leaders signed the peace plan in Egypt. Listen to Trump100 as you scroll.
Tuesday 14 October 2025 07:29, UK
The families of 24 Israeli hostages are still waiting for the release of their bodies from Gaza.
Only four bodies have been transferred by Hamas to Israel so far, and some of those that remain may not be located, according to Israeli authorities.
Under the ceasefire agreement, all the hostages – including the deceased – should have been handed over to Israel by yesterday morning.
“The mood yesterday was certainly one of overwhelming joy, celebration… but underneath all of that there was some sadness,” says international correspondent Alex Rossi, who has been speaking with hostages’ families.
“For families waiting at the moment for the remains of their loved ones, [it is an] extraordinarily sad and difficult time.
“They keep waiting and hoping that they will get the remains of their loved ones very soon so they can bury them and have a proper funeral.”
Donald Trump told world leaders the hardest part is over – but key parts of his 20-point peace plan remain unsettled.
Not least, Hamas and Israel have not agreed on the details of Gaza’s postwar governance, the territory’s reconstruction and Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm.
Negotiations over those issues could break down, and Israel has hinted it may resume military operations if its demands are not met.
As Palestinians returned to the rubble where their homes once stood, Trump declared yesterday: “Rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part. I think we’ve done a lot of the hardest part because the rest comes together.”
Others were more tentative about the intricacies that lie ahead.
“Unfortunately, I think there are several potential points of failure going forward,” said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Unanswered questions
How and when Hamas is to disarm, and where its arms will go, are unclear, as are plans for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
A new security force is to be established for Gaza, made up of troops from other nations, but it is not known which countries will send forces, how they will be used and what happens if they encounter resistance.
It’s also not clear who will staff a temporary governing board for Gaza, where it will be located and how the population will respond.
And rebuilding Gaza would cost $53bn, according to The World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union.
All of that is layered atop a legacy of conflict, deep distrust among the sides and a vague, conditional possibility of an eventual Palestinian state – an issue that has been a core sticking point for decades.
“When you realise how far things have to go for that current pause to be sustained, that’s where I think it does become very daunting,” Yacoubian said.
It was an extraordinary day of enormous emotion and high drama, but, for all that, we have only witnessed the first phase of the Trump peace plan – and in many ways that is the easy bit.
The first phase envisaged a ceasefire, the release of hostages, the release of many more Palestinians held in Israeli jails, a partial Israeli military withdrawal, and aid starting to flood back into Gaza.
Job done, although the aid bit is still a work in progress.
Trump and his team ripped up one of the golden rules of Middle Eastern negotiating to pull this off: No deal until a final deal.
They have turned that on its head, pushing for a breakthrough on what can be agreed on, and then committing to sorting out the rest later.
And it’s worked in the sense that it has delivered a spectacular day of achievements. The catch is it has postponed the harder bits, which now loom into view.
They include what happens to Hamas and whether it should be disarmed, creating a transitional authority to govern Gaza, and sending in a multinational peacekeeping force to provide security. There are plans for a “board of peace” to oversee everything, chaired by Donald Trump.
If there is progress on all of that, the Israeli military withdrawal is committed to withdraw further back to a narrow buffer on the edges of Gaza’s border. And ultimately, the hope is of continued momentum towards talks about Palestinian statehood and a “two-state solution”.
Donald Trump made it abundantly clear he believes this is only the start. This is, he said, the historic dawn of a new Middle East”. There seem few limits to his peacekeeping ambition.
But if the diplomacy is going to fulfill the promise of his rhetoric, there must be progress on at least the security force and the transitional government for Gaza.
Because without that, the vacuum left by the retreating Israeli military could soon be filled by Hamas. It could then, in due course, rally, regroup, and at some point return to the fray.
The president has gathered together an impressive coalition of countries in Sharm, on the face of it, committed to his 20-point plan. He must now harness them to give Gazans an alternative vision they can believe in. Without it, his ambitious rhetoric remains just that.
Donald Trump has said he hopes a peace agreement signed at a global summit in Egypt will lead to “the rebuilding of Gaza”.
The president declined to say it would lead to the creation of a Palestinian state, in response to questions from reporters aboard Air Force One.
He was on his way back from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where world leaders gathered yesterday to mark an agreement he said had answered the “prayers of millions”.
Asked whether the deal, the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, and the return of all living Israeli hostages could lead to a Palestinian state, Trump said: “We’re talking about rebuilding Gaza.
“I’m not talking about single state or double state or two-state. We’re talking about the rebuilding of Gaza.
“A lot of people like the one-state solution. Some people like the two-state solutions. We’ll have to see. I haven’t commented on that.”
Trump’s longer-term 20-point proposal includes a “board of peace” to oversee the creation of a transitional authority for the territory, chaired by the US president.
Hello and welcome back to our live coverage.
Yesterday, Donald Trump declared “peace in the Middle East” after the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza were released.
Today, eyes will be on Hamas to see if it releases the bodies of the final 24 captives still inside Gaza.
It handed over four coffins yesterday, which have been sent to Tel Aviv to begin a formal identification process.
Scroll down to our last post for a recap of yesterday’s key moments, and stay with us as we bring you all the latest.
We’re pausing our live coverage after a monumental day in the Middle East.
We’ll be back tomorrow morning with more updates. Until then, here’s a rundown of what’s happened today:
Living hostages returned: After a little over two years in captivity, the final 20 Israeli hostages held in Gaza were released.
Let out in two groups – one group of seven and another of 13 – they were first handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas in Gaza before being met by IDF troops for the journey home.
Thousands gathered in Israel to celebrate the moment as images of the hostages being reunited with their loved ones were screened across the country.
Watch: Joy as hostages reunite with families
Israel begins identification of bodies: Despite the peace plan stipulating Hamas would return all hostages, alive or dead, by around midday today, there still remains 24 bodies left in Gaza tonight.
Hamas returned four bodies today, which are now in Israel, where identification procedures are being carried out.
The militant group has indicated that recovering the bodies of some dead hostages may take longer, as not all burial sites are known.
Palestinian detainees freed: As hostages left Gaza, almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees were released from Israeli detention.
Buses of prisoners were first seen arriving in Ramallah, in the West Bank, this morning. A little later in the day, more buses arrived in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, where they were met with huge crowds.
World leaders meet: After addressing the Israeli parliament, Donald Trump joined more than 20 leaders in Egypt to sign a document related to the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Trump called it a day people have been “working, striving, hoping and praying for”, hailing the “end of the Gaza war”.
Watch: ‘We have peace in Middle East’
And if you’d like to read more, go deeper with these analysis and eyewitness pieces from our experts:
It’s been an historic day for the Middle East.
Hostages and prisoners have been released, families have been reunited, and the images of constant smoke rising above the skies of Gaza have ceased.
Here’s how the day unfolded in 12 pictures:
The return of hostages out of Gaza marks a day of hope and a new beginning for millions, the head of the Red Cross says.
Mirjana Spoljaric spoke after the organisation helped to facilitate the release of 20 hostages who were in Gaza and almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israeli authorities.
She described it as a “great responsibility” for Red Cross teams.
“More families are waiting anxiously to receive their loved ones, and deserve closure. The ceasefire must hold,” Spoljaric said.
She added: “The operation carried out today shows how lives can be saved if parties to conflict remain at the negotiating table until an agreement is found.”
As expected, tomorrow’s newspapers are all leading with today’s Middle East developments.
The images of Israeli hostages reuniting with their loved ones dominate the front pages, as well as questions over what happens next in Gaza.
Even Donald Trump’s political opponents in the US have hailed his role in the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Jake Sullivan, who as Joe Biden’s national security adviser handled the aftermath of the October 7 2023 attacks, told CNN: “I give credit to President Trump”.
But he also questioned: “Can we make sure this sticks as we go forward?”
Democratic former President Bill Clinton said in a statement that Trump and his administration “deserve great credit for keeping everyone engaged until the agreement was reached”.
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