GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Oct 13, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump landed in Egypt on Monday for a summit on Gaza, following a lightning visit to Israel after a ceasefire he brokered entered into force.

Trump will co-chair the summit alongside President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the presence of a host of world leaders.

In Israel, Trump gave a speech to parliament to mark the return of 20 surviving hostages from Gaza, during which he hailed a "historic dawn of a new Middle East" and an end to the "long and painful nightmare" of the Gaza war.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has reached 67,869, as it continued recovering the bodies of those killed during the war. The United Nations considers its figures to be reliable.

Here are the latest developments:

- Gaza summit -

Trump touched down in Egypt for a summit on Gaza in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in the presence of over two dozen heads of state, government and international organisations.

After the Egyptian presidency announced Netanyahu's expected attendance, the Israeli leader said he was unable to go because the summit coincides with a Jewish holiday. A Turkish diplomatic source claimed the Israeli premier pulled out after pressure from Ankara.

On Sunday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said a "document ending the war in the Gaza Strip" was expected to be signed during the "historic" gathering.

According to three diplomatic sources, mediators the US, Egypt, Qatar and likely Turkey would sign a guarantee document during the summit.

Hamas will not be represented at the summit, though Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose movement rivals Hamas, will attend.

Among those also expected are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan's King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Representation is also expected from the EU and Arab League, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India and Germany, among others.

- Trump speech -

Trump visited Israel earlier on Monday. Lawmakers greeted him with a standing ovation as he entered the Knesset and Netanyahu called him the "greatest friend" Israel has ever had in the White House.

In his speech to parliament, Trump called the hostages' release an "incredible triumph for Israel and the world", paying credit to mediators from the Arab and Muslim world for pressuring Hamas.

He also urged Palestinians to "turn forever from the path of terror" following the failure of "jihadism and antisemitism", and vowed that the United States would "never forget" Hamas's October 7 attack.

"From October 7 until this week, Israel has been a nation at war, enduring burdens that only a proud and faithful people could withstand," Trump said.

"For so many families across this land, it has been years since you've known a single day of true peace," he said.

"But now it lasts, not only for Israelis, but also for Palestinians and for many others. The long and painful nightmare is finally over."

- Hostage-prisoner exchange -

The initial stage of the ceasefire deal that took effect on Friday includes the release of 47 living and dead Israeli hostages taken on October 7, 2023, in exchange for 250 prisoners and 1,700 detainees held by Israel since the war broke out.

Hamas is also expected to hand over the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict.

In the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, an AFP journalist saw several buses leaving Israel's Ofer prison, while crowds in Ramallah and Khan Yunis gathered to welcome the prisoners.

Israel confirmed all living 20 hostages had returned to the country, with a series of posts on X that read: "Welcome home".

Israel does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday.

Hamas's armed wing published the names of four dead hostages whose bodies were set to be returned on Monday.

The Israeli army later announced the Red Cross had received the remains of two dead hostages and expected the transfer of two further deceased captives into the group's custody.

But a hostage families' group accused the Hamas of reneging on the deal by not returning more.

"This represents a blatant breach of the agreement by Hamas. We expect Israel's government and the mediators to take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

- Hamas post-war role -

While the ceasefire and initial releases were welcomed by Israelis, Palestinians and others around the world, the coming phases in Trump's plan for Gaza are likely to prove more complicated to implement.

A Hamas source close to the group's negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that it would not participate in governing post-war Gaza.

The source, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the movement has "relinquished control of the Strip", but stressed it "remains a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric".

Another Hamas official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier told AFP the Hamas's disarmament was "out of the question".