Trump says 'war over' as he addresses Israeli Parliament as hostages and some Palestinian prisoners freed

President Donald Trump was addressing Israel's parliament Monday morning, hours after Hamas released the last 20 living hostages from the Gaza Strip as part of a ceasefire deal brokered in part by the United States.

The 20 hostages returned to Israeli territory after Hamas freed them early Monday, a crucial step in the deal that took effect Friday. In exchange, buses carrying Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the first of nearly 2,000 prisoners expected to be freed in the coming hours.

As Trump walked through a hallway in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, a reporter asked if the war was officially over. "Yes, as far as I'm concerned, yes," he replied.

But the ceasefire and prisoner exchange did not end the war, and there are many lingering questions about what comes next in Gaza, including whether Hamas will agree to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand that it disarm.

Many of those questions were expected to come up at a summit on the ceasefire deal that Trump and other world leaders were scheduled to attend in Egypt later Monday. The Egyptian government said that Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, would participate in the summit, but Netanyahu's office said he would not, citing the Jewish religious holiday of Simhath Torah.

Among both Israelis and Palestinians, the ceasefire and the start of the exchange brought relief after two devastating years of war.

"You are coming home!" Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan Zangauker, 25, said on a video call with her son in Gaza for the first time since he was abducted two years ago, according to footage broadcast on Israeli television.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, crowds of Palestinians gathered in the city of Ramallah, where video footage showed Palestinian prisoners stepping off the bus that brought them from Israel's Ofer Prison after their release. Some of the men were wearing keffiyehs and flashing victory signs as they stepped off the bus into a big crowd of people.

But for some Palestinians in Gaza, the relief was clouded by sadness over a war that has reduced much of the territory to rubble. Saed Abu Aita, 44, said he hoped the return of the hostages to Israel would open the door to the end of the war. But "there's nothing to be happy about," he said. "My two daughters were killed, my home was destroyed, and my health has deteriorated."

Hamas militants attacked Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and abducting about 250. In response, Israel invaded Gaza, killing about 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

For Israelis, getting the hostages back was by far the most important goal. Scores of hostages were released in two earlier temporary cease-fires, and a small number were rescued alive by Israeli soldiers.

For Palestinians, the ceasefire offered hope of an eventual return to something approaching normal life. Thousands of displaced Gaza residents began to return north to Gaza City after it took effect. Israel has also begun to allow growing amounts of desperately needed food, medicine and other humanitarian aid into the enclave, where a United Nations-backed panel of food experts has said that some areas are officially under famine.

Here's what else to know:

-- The logistics: Under the deal reached last week in talks brokered by U.S., Arab and Turkish mediators, Israeli forces withdrew to a new defensive line inside Gaza by noon on Friday, opening a 72-hour window for the hostages to be released.

-- The dead: Hamas is required under the ceasefire to turn over the remains of deceased hostages, but it is unclear how quickly that will happen. Israel believes 26 hostages are dead, while the condition of two other captives has not been confirmed. Officials have said that Hamas will have to search for the remains of some hostages, which may take some time.

-- Aid deliveries: Hours before the first Israeli hostages were released, the United Nations said "real progress" was being made in delivering aid to Gaza.

-- Red Cross: The International Committee of the Red Cross plays a central role in exchanges of hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails. The group has come under sharp criticism from both Israelis and Palestinians.

-- Overnight gathering: Thousands of Israelis crammed into a plaza in central Tel Aviv known as Hostages Square to show support by waving Israeli flags and signs bearing photos of those expected to be freed.