Israel declared victory on Sunday in its war with Hamas as the militant group prepared to release its surviving hostages, a key step in Donald Trump’s Gaza plan hours before he hosts a peace summit in Egypt.

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.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was nevertheless confident.

“This is an emotional evening, an evening of tears, an evening of joy, because tomorrow our children will return to our borders,”

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