U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press briefing in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 1, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump plans to greet Israeli hostages “in person” after they are released by the terror group Hamas from Gaza, Vice President JD Vance said Sunday.
Trump is scheduled to fly to Israel on Sunday afternoon.
Vance confirmed reporting by The Wall Street Journal that Hamas has said it holds 20 living hostages
Vance, in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” said the hostages will be released at “any moment now.”
Trump intends to “greet the hostages Monday morning, Middle Eastern time, which should be late, you know, Sunday night or very early Monday morning here in the United States,” he said.
The planned release of the hostages comes days after Israel’s government approved the first phase of a peace deal with Hamas.
Hamas took about 250 people hostage during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel from Gaza, sparking a two-year war that has devastated that Palestinian territory.
Vance called the hostages’ release “a monumental thing.”
“It’s great, of course, for their families,” he said. “But I really do think that it shows what happens when you go outside the traditional failed diplomatic routes and actually try something new.”
During a separate appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Vance said he does not expect that Israel will be able to retrieve the remains of dead hostages from Hamas.
“I think that we will eventually get most of the bodies, but we won’t get all of them,” Vance said.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.