Hamas on Monday released all 20 living hostages who were held in Gaza for more than two years.
The big picture: President Trump declared the war in Gaza over following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal in the two-year campaign that killed more than 67,000 Palestinians.
President Trump is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, two sources familiar with the planning told Axios.
Why it matters: The two will discuss what weapons should be supplied to Ukraine, specifically if the U.S. should provide game-changing long-range Tomahawk missiles to the war-torn country.
During his address to the Israeli parliament on Monday, President Trump went off script and urged President Issac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is standing trial on three corruption charges.
Why it matters: It's a stunning intervention in Israel's domestic politics and judicial system, made from the Knesset podium. Trump has weighed in on Netanyahu's trial before, but in his speech he went further than ever before to boost his ally's domestic political standing.
At President Trump's request, Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi invited Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Gaza peace conference in Sharm el-Sheikh that will begin later on Monday.
Netanyahu declined the invitation, citing a Jewish holiday.
Why it matters: Netanyahu's participation at the conference could have turned it from a symbolic event to endorse Trump's Gaza plan, to a more meaningful diplomatic event — with the potential to boost Trump's ambitions of expanding the Abraham Accords after the war.
An unusual and dramatic meeting last Wednesday between President Trump's envoys and Hamas leaders helped get the Gaza peace deal across the line, three sources with direct knowledge tell Axios.
Why it matters: One barrier to a deal was that Hamas leaders feared Israel would resume the war once its hostages were freed.
Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages on Monday morning as part of the Gaza peace deal brokered by the Trump administration.
Why it matters: The Israeli hostages, most of them civilians, were held in captivity in Gaza for more than two years. Finally, all of the hostages who survived are now free.
President Trump landed in Israel on Monday amid the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Trump said on Sunday that the war in Gaza was over and expressed confidence that the ceasefire he brokered several days ago will hold.
Why it matters: Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Israel — the first stop on his Middle East trip. His remarks were also an implicit warning to Israel and Hamas not to violate the deal.
President Trump told Axios in a phone interview from Air Force One en route to Israel that the Gaza peace deal "could be the biggest thing I was ever involved in."
The big picture: As Trump was speaking with Axios, Israel was preparing for the imminent release of the last 20 live hostages held by Hamas. Meanwhile, Trump's peace plan should end a war that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry.
The Trump administration is asking the public to trust its math on what it promised would be the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history.
Why it matters: The Department of Homeland Security has used a highly unorthodox approach to reach its stunning figure of 2 million undocumented immigrants "removed or self-deported" since Inauguration Day.
