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President Trump declared the Gaza war over and received a standing ovation in Israel's parliament on Monday for his leading role in bringing about a ceasefire in the war-ravaged territory.

In a crucial part of the agreement, Hamas released the last 20 living Israeli hostages who had been captive for just over two years.

In turn, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Most of the Palestinians were taken from Israeli prisons, placed on buses, and driven to either Gaza or the West Bank. They were greeted by cheering crowds, along with hugs from friends and family. Israel was also sending some abroad, effectively placing them in exile. 

The Palestinians released included some convicted of killings who had been in prison for decades. Most were detained without charge during the past two years of fighting.

"This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East," Trump told the members of Israel's parliament, the Knesset. 

"Generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better," Trump said in a speech frequently punctuated with applause. "Like the U.S.A. right now, it will be the golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East."

Israeli lawmakers chanted Trump's name, and he received a prolonged standing ovation at the end of his lengthy speech filled with grandiose language.

Since taking effect Friday, the ceasefire has been holding after the deadliest fighting ever between Israelis and Palestinians. And if Israel and Hamas can complete the exchange of prisoners and hostages as outlined in the agreement, that should provide additional momentum for an agreement that still faces many obstacles. 

Trump is a staunch backer of Israel, though he put considerable pressure on Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire proposal. Trump also leaned on Arab countries, like Egypt and Qatar, to get Hamas to agree to the truce.

Speaking before Trump, Netanyahu called the U.S. president "the greatest friend that the State of Israel has ever had in the White House."  

In the hours before Trump spoke, Hamas handed over the 20 Israeli hostages, in two separate groups, to the International Committee of the Red Cross inside Gaza. The Red Cross then delivered the hostages to the Israeli military, which whisked them out of the territory to a military base in southern Israel. From there, they were flown by helicopter to hospitals in the Tel Aviv area. 

All the hostages were men, and all were in their 20s and 30s, except for one, who was in his 40s.

Israeli television showed Einav Zangauker speaking to her son, Matan Zangauker, 25, in a video call shortly after his release. "There's no war, it's over. You are coming home," she told him. 

Pictures released by the Israel Defense Forces showed smiling hostages being reunited with their families. A video showed the moment hostage Eitan Mor, 25, was reunited with his family as his father hugged him and wept loudly.

The hostage handover ignited celebrations throughout Israel. Tens of thousands gathered in Hostages Square, the plaza in Tel Aviv that has been the site of vigils throughout the war. The crowd roared in jubilation and waved blue-and-white Israeli flags.

Hamas is also required to hand over 28 bodies of dead hostages, though the Palestinian group says it has not been able to locate all of them.

After the brief visit to Israel, Trump was set to fly to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where the truce was negotiated last week, to take part in a formal signing ceremony. 

Leaders from more than 20 nations are expected to attend. However, leaders from Israel and Hamas were not invited initially. Egypt extended a last-minute invitation to Netanyahu on Monday, but he declined, citing a Jewish holiday.  

The Egyptian government said Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which runs Palestinian areas in the West Bank, would take part.

On his flight to Israel on Air Force One, Trump portrayed the ceasefire as a win for countries across the region. 

"Everybody is happy whether it's Jewish or Muslim or the Arab countries. Every country is dancing in the streets," he said.

On another front, increased aid is beginning to flow into Gaza, where essentials have been in critically short supply throughout the war. Hundreds of trucks with assistance entered southern Gaza from Egypt on Sunday. The territory is in urgent need of food, water, medicine, fuel and tents.

While the ceasefire is off to a good start, many larger questions have not been resolved.

Israeli troops pulled back on Friday, but still hold roughly half of Gaza. They are eventually supposed to carry out additional pullbacks, but there's no timetable for their full withdrawal.

The ceasefire also calls for Hamas to give up its weapons and play no role in the future governance of Gaza. Hamas has not publicly agreed to this, and Hamas civilian police have already re-emerged on the streets of the territory. There is currently no other Palestinian group in Gaza that is capable of ruling the territory.

The ceasefire calls for a group of Palestinian technocrats to run Gaza on an interim basis, but they have not been named and it is not clear what kind of authority they would have, if any. 

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Greg Myre

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Daniel Estrin

Hamas released the last 20 living Israeli hostages who had been captive for just over two years. In turn, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Hamas releases Israeli hostages, Trump gets standing ovation in Israel’s parliament

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