Updated Oct. 12, 2025, 11:23 PM PDT
By NBC News
What we know
- SEVEN HOSTAGES TO RED CROSS: Seven hostages being held in Gaza have been transferred into Red Cross custody and were on their way to Israeli forces, the Israel Defense Forces said. More hostages are expected to be transferred later, it said.
- MORE HOSTAGES AWAITING TRANSFER: In all, 48 hostages — 20 of whom are believed to be alive — are expected to be transferred as part of the first phase of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas. Hamas has pledged to release them by today in exchange for 250 prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Palestinians detained after the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
- TRUMP TO ISRAEL: President Donald Trump is on his way to Israel, where he will address members of the Knesset before he joins a Middle East peace summit in Egypt.
- WORLD LEADERS ATTENDING: Aside from Trump, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are among 20 heads of state attending today’s summit in Egypt. Israeli and Hamas officials would not be attending.
- SCALE OF WAR: More than 67,000 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive on Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Large swaths of the enclave have been destroyed, and famine has been declared in part of northern Gaza. Around 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
First 7 returned hostages are identified
Carolin Sri-NarayanaThe first seven hostages to be released are Eitan Mor, Gali and Ziv Berman, Matan Angrest, Omri Miran, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, and Alon Ohel, a representative of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum told NBC News in a phone call.
Their names were also confirmed by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
7 returned hostages are in the custody of Israeli forces
NBC NewsThe seven hostages who have been released so far are now making their way to Israeli territory, where they will undergo an initial medical assessment.
The hostages met with personnel from the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency after being released to the Red Cross in Gaza, the IDF and ISA said in a joint statement.
“The commanders and soldiers of the IDF salute and embrace the returning hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel,” they said.
“The commanders and soldiers of the IDF salute and embrace the returning hostages as they make their way home to the State of Israel,” they said.
Hostages will need long-term medical and psychological care, group says
NBC NewsThe health team for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the people expected to be released from Hamas captivity will need medical care, but also “the restoration of their identity as people.”
It stressed that the full scope of the hostage’s injuries is not yet known, but that they and their families — as well as the families of the deceased hostages — “require long-term medical, psychological, and social rehabilitation.”
“This process does not end with release — it begins with it,” the team said.
Egypt prepares for the ceremony, but what next hangs over the proceedings
Keir SimmonsReporting from Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
Hurried security checks and international flags punctuated the early morning at an aging conference center where Trump will meet with world leaders later today.
Scenes from the conference centre in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt where President Trump will meet with world leaders.Keir Simmons / NBC NewsSome 20 presidents, prime ministers and kings have been told they will be welcomed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, and then by Trump. The heart of the event is a signing ceremony with the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.
Outside the conference centre in Sharm El-Sheikh today.Keir Simmons / NBC NewsEuropean governments tell NBC News it’s not clear whether other leaders will speak.
The leaders who are attending have been asked for pledges for Gaza reconstruction. But how the next phases of Trump’s peace plan will be achieved is uncertain.
Removing Hamas from the political process, setting up “temporary transitional governance” for the Gaza Strip and rebuilding — this all presents huge challenges for the leaders who are gathering here in Egypt. And notably, neither Hamas nor Israel will send representatives.
List of Palestinian prisoners to be released is missing a notable name
Sara MonettaReporting from Beitunia, occupied West Bank
The Palestinian Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs has released the official list of Palestinian prisoners being released as part of the ceasefire deal, including 250 prisoners with life sentences or long sentences and 1,718 people who have been detained in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Those in the latter group were being held under administrative detention, a controversial practice that allows Israel to detain people without charge for an indefinite period of time.
A notable absence: Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a prominent pediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza.
The Israeli military detained Safiya in December after his hospital came under attack. International organizations have long asked for his release and have expressed concern over his worsening conditions.
7 hostages have been transferred, Israel says
NBC NewsSeven hostages have been transferred and are on their way to Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency said in a joint statement that cited the Red Cross, which is retrieving the hostages.
The IDF also said it was prepared to receive additional hostages who are expected to be transferred to the Red Cross later in the day.
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