The story
Israelis and Palestinians have celebrated after hostages and prisoners were exchanged on Monday.
Hamas returned all living Israeli hostages, while Israel freed almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
This exchange is a big step towards ending the war in Gaza and is the first phase of a plan to end the war, arranged and negotiated by US President Donald Trump.
At a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh later on Monday, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the US signed a declaration backing a ceasefire deal.
News headlines
Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees freed as Trump hails ‘historic dawn‘ in Middle East
BBC News
One Era Ends in Gaza, and Another Begins
The Atlantic
Trump’s hostage deal was the easy part
The New Statesman
Key words and phrases
historic dawn
the beginning of something new and important
- When astronauts landed on the moon, it was a historic dawn for humanity.
one (thing) ends, another begins
an ending creates space for something new
- I can’t believe you’re moving to Australia. I guess as one era ends, another begins.
the easy part
the simplest part of a larger challenge
- Starting the company was the easy part. Now I’ve got to go make a profit.