The release of 48 hostages from Gaza – 20 of them possibly still alive – is imminent, with President Trump traveling Sunday to help oversee a peace deal following more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Then, the hard part starts, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon told Fox News.
“Everyone in Israel is holding their breath for the hostages,” Danon told “The Big Weekend Show” Sunday evening in New York. “Eight hours from now, you should expect them to come home to unite with their families. It is a miracle, two years after, to get them out of the dungeons of Hamas.”
Danon said leaders in the region were awaiting for Israeli forces to pull back to an agreed-upon line – as well as the arrival of Trump, who, along with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were expected to announce a successful exchange as early as Monday morning.
“That is a little part of our agreement — it’s in exchange,” he said, noting the imbalance in the prisoner swap. “Look at the difference: We will celebrate citizens who were kidnapped coming home. They will celebrate those who murdered innocent people getting out of jail. You cannot make the equation.”
While peace talks have been brewing since January, it wasn’t until last week that Israel’s Cabinet approved Trump’s cease-fire and release plan, which Vice President J.D. Vance first said Sunday on “Meet the Press” was coming “at any moment now.”
Then the truly difficult work begins, Danon said.
“After that difficult part, the second phase requires the disarmament of Hamas,” Danon said. “They should give up their weapons, and they should stop with everything that they did for the last 20 years — and it will be much harder to implement.”
Though Israeli forces moved back and are standing down, they are still inside Gaza.
“We withdrew our forces at the southern point, not completely, because we have to wait and will be very careful and cautious to see if they are implementing the second phase,” Danon said.
Danon said the follow-through will include much more than just the reconstruction of Gaza.
“We will do what’s best,” he said. “After October 7, we know who we are dealing with. We trust ourselves and we trust our soldiers, but we are expecting the international community to look at reality and understand it must be clear — you have to follow through.”
That means assuring that “radical elements” will still have to be taken out.
“Twenty years ago, we pulled out from Gaza completely. We gave the keys to the Palestinians and told them to build their own future. Hamas took over, and since then, they are there,” he said. “The challenge is to see that the money that comes in is conditioned — and Hamas is not part of the game anymore.”
Watch the entire interview in the exchange above.
