Trump declares Gaza war ‘over’, hostages due home
US President Donald Trump declared the Gaza war “over” on Sunday as he headed to the region to host a peace summit, while Hamas prepared to release surviving hostages after two years in captivity.
Under the US president’s proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian militants have handed over the hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange.
But negotiators were still wrangling late Sunday over the final arrangements, with two Hamas sources telling AFP the group was insisting that Israel include seven senior Palestinian leaders on the list of those to be released.
A confident Trump told reporters travelling with him that “the war is over,” as he took off from Washington for “a very special” trip.
The US leader is due to arrive in Israel shortly after the expected release and will address the Israeli parliament before…
