New Delhi: As the 20 living hostages that Hamas had held for over two years returned to Israel on Monday (October 13) under Donald Trump’s ‘peace proposal’ for Gaza, Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the development and hailed the US president’s “unwavering” and “sincere efforts to “bring peace to the region”.Hamas on Monday released the 20 hostages – first in a batch of seven followed by the remaining 13 – via the Red Cross as part of the first phase of Trump’s plan that it agreed to implement along with Israel, following which they underwent medical assessments and were reunited with family members in emotional scenes.Additionally, Hamas has handed over the bodies of two deceased Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, who are to give them to Israeli personnel in turn, the Israel Defence Forces announced. The Palestinian group is expected to transfer the corpses of two more dead hostages, it added.For its part Israel has released to the West Bank and Gaza hundreds of Palestinians in its custody. Of the close to 2,000 Gazans it released on Monday, some 250 were serving life terms for attacks on Israelis, while another 1,700 or so had been detained during the war without formal charges.Welcoming the hostages’ return, Modi said on X that “their freedom stands as a tribute to the courage of their families, the unwavering peace efforts of President Trump and the strong resolve of [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu”.“We support President Trump’s sincere efforts to bring peace to the region,” added Modi, who has consistently praised Trump’s peace proposal since he announced it earlier this month, including by replicating his posts on the president’s Truth Social platform.He also posted a Hebrew version of his latest message on X.Addressing the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem on Monday Trump celebrated the exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners as a “day of profound joy” marking the “end of an age of terror and death” as well as the beginning of West Asia’s transformation into a “truly magnificent region”.“It will be the golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East” just as his US is experiencing its own golden age and with the “enemies of all civilisation” being “in retreat”, proclaimed Trump, who was given a standing ovation ahead of his address.Following that he headed to Sharm el-Sheikh to co-chair a summit along with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about the developments in Gaza, where dignitaries including the UN secretary general, the British prime minister and the French president were present and in which India was represented by minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh.Here he signed a document on the Gaza ceasefire deal along with el-Sisi, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – leaders of countries that have mediated talks between Israel and Hamas – and which he reportedly said would lay a foundation for the coastal strip’s future, although its contents have not been made public.New Delhi said after the summit that it supports Trump’s Gaza proposal and “appreciate[s] Egypt and Qatar for their valuable roles in achieving this and advancing the path to peace”.“India stands for peace in the Middle East and resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement after the summit, which it described as being “in line with President Trump’s vision for lasting peace in the region”.“This is also in line with India’s long standing support for a negotiated two State solution. India will support all efforts towards a lasting peace in the region,” it continued.Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was also at the summit, took to the dais at Trump’s invitation, following which he said he would like to once again recommend the president’s name for the Nobel Peace Prize in light of the breakthrough in Gaza.“I genuinely feel that he is the most genuine and most wonderful candidate for the Peace Prize because he has brought not only peace in South Asia, saved millions of people … and today, here in Sharm el-Sheikh, achieving peace in Gaza, is saving millions of lives in the Middle East,” Sharif said, echoing Trump’s claim – denied by New Delhi – that he precipitated the India-Pakistan ceasefire.While in Jerusalem Trump recommended to Israeli President Isaac Herzog that Netanyahu – whom he called a “great” and “very popular man” who ‘knows how to win’ – be pardoned. The prime minister is facing several bribery and corruption charges, hearings related to which were deferred during Israel’s war with Hamas.Speaking before Trump, Netanyahu had called Trump the “greatest friend” Israel has ever had in Washington and for making the peace proposal which he said “achieves all our objectives”.Hamas took around 250 people hostage during its October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel, in which it also killed around 1,200 people.In response, Israel launched a military campaign in the Gaza strip that has seen 67,000 Palestinians being killed and most of the territory’s population becoming displaced, and which has repeatedly been likened to a genocide.Apart from the 20 living captives released on Monday, Hamas was believed to have the bodies of 28 other hostages. It had released some 25 living and eight deceased hostages during a ceasefire early this year.With inputs from DW.