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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2025-10-12 at 14:07
HEADLINES
Hostage releases underway as ceasefire holds
Prisoner releases trigger families anger
Sharm el Sheikh to host Gaza summit
The time is now 10:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
Ten o’clock in the morning, a fragile calm holds in the region as the United States brokered ceasefire in Sharm el-Sheikh remains in place and the negotiators press ahead with the next steps of the hostage release and prisoner exchanges. Officials say the first wave of living hostages is expected to begin arriving back in Israel on Monday in the early hours, with a target window of six to seven o’clock in the morning. The plan envisions a coordinated handover to the Red Cross, conducted in multiple convoys and across several points in Gaza.
On the ground, Israeli authorities are outlining the operational details of the first moves. Reports from the war cabinet and security services indicate about twenty hostages are anticipated to return alive in the initial movement, with the broader exchange involving a substantial number of Palestinian prisoners. In parallel, Israel is prepared to release a comparable group of Palestinians in exchange, including senior militants convicted of deadly attacks and others held in administrative detention or on lesser charges. The precise balance and sequencing of releases will be confirmed as the handover progresses, but officials stress the objective is a single, verifiable exchange aimed at saving lives and restoring families.
Hospitals and medical facilities have prepared to receive captives and to conduct medical checks as needed. In particular, the plan calls for ten of the living hostages to be admitted to Tel Hashomer, five to Beilinson, and five to Ichilov, with additional secure medical capacity available across the country should further triage be required. Once the medical checks are complete, the first batch of hostages will be returned to Israel and connected with families in a controlled, supervised setting.
Conveying the operational tempo, Israeli coordinators say each Red Cross convoy will consist of eight to ten vehicles, including ambulances for any medical contingencies. The teams traveling with the convoy will include professionals with recent experience handling hostage recoveries, and the first encounters are expected to take place in a controlled, person-to-person format to ease the return for those who have endured years of captivity.
The broader, international frame remains critical to the process. A combined task force, involving the United States, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, will steer the recovery of the remains of those who did not survive the war and oversee the logistics of the ceasefire verification and prisoner transfers. Engineering support and specialized technicians stand ready to provide assistance as needed to facilitate the handover and to address any technical obstacles that may arise. The involvement of Egypt is particularly noted as a growing influence in shaping the regional balance as peace talks proceed.
Beyond the immediate release, observers note the ceasefire’s longer-term implications for regional dynamics. Egypt is highlighted for its enhanced role in hosting Gaza-related diplomacy, including a peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in the near term that will bring together US officials, President Donald Trump, and leaders from around the world to discuss Gaza’s future, security arrangements, and the credibility of a ceasefire under international supervision. The objective, officials say, is to anchor a civilian administration in Gaza and stabilize the region through a framework that combines security with humanitarian relief and governance reforms.
In Washington, Vice President JD Vance has signaled support for the hostage release timing, noting that hostages could be freed “at any moment,” while stressing tha
Published on 3 weeks, 4 days ago