Hamas releases all remaining living Israeli hostages in swap
The group was released in two batches, with a second group of 13 hostages transferred in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the broadcaster said.
The remaining Israeli hostages are being released by Hamas after being held in Gaza for more than two years, in exchange for over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hamas initially handed over seven hostages to the Red Cross, who were driven to Israeli security forces to be taken into Israel. It later handed over 13 more hostages. They reunited with their families before being flown by helicopter to hospitals.
Tens of thousands of Israelis watched the transfers at public screenings across the country.
The families and friends of hostages broke out into cheers as Israeli TV channels announced the hostages were in the hands of the Red Cross.
Israel previously said that of the 251 initially taken captive in Hamas's October 7 2023 attack, 20 of the hostages that remained in Gaza were thought to be alive and 28 were presumed dead.
The 20 hostages are all men aged between 20 and 48, who have spent more than two years in captivity.
As part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's ceasefire agreement, Hamas was given 72 hours to release all the Israeli hostages, alive and dead.
The agreed ceasefire started at midday local time (10am UK time) on Friday, with tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians moving back towards northern Gaza, which was mostly destroyed by Israel.
Who are the hostages to be freed?
Hamas released a list of the 20 living hostages it has freed. Tap on their pictures to read more about them:
A second phase of the plan, which all sides have yet to agree on, could see Israeli troops further withdrawing from Gaza.
Jubilant scenes across Israel as families and loved ones reunited with freed hostages
The Guardian’s chief reporter, Daniel Boffey, has been reporting from the ground in Tel Aviv amid jubilant scenes across Israel as hostages were finally released by Hamas.
Emotional footage was shared by Israeli broadcasters to an estimated 65,000 people gathered in front of large screens on “hostages square” in Tel Aviv and to millions more watching the coverage at home.
In a statement the family of Omri Miran, 48, who was abducted in front of his wife and two children during Hamas’s attack on Israel of 7 October 2023 at Nahal Oz kibbutz, said his return was a victory for “an entire people”.
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Released Israeli hostage, Omri Miran, is reunited with his wife, Lishay Miran-Lav, and father, Dani Miran, in Re’im, Israel. Photograph: Israel Defense Forces/Reuters |
They said: “After more than 700 long, painful, and agonising days, Omri will finally receive from [his children] Roni and Alma a healing embrace. We want to thank the people of Israel from the bottom of our hearts for standing by us in the darkest hours and on days when this moment seemed like a distant and impossible wish. This moment, today, is not a personal victory but a victory of an entire people.
We also want to express our deep gratitude to the security forces and the heroic [Israel Defense Force] soldiers. We are at the beginning of a complex and challenging, yet moving, journey of recovery.
We remain committed to the struggle until the last hostage returns, and until the complete recovery of our beloved country. May Omri’s return mark the beginning of this recovery and the unity of our people.
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Friends and family of released Israeli hostage Matan Angrest celebrate as they see the first pictures of his release. Photograph: Rami Shlush/Reuters |
The family of Matan Angrest, 22, an Israel Defense Force soldier captured when his tank was attacked by Hamas near the Gaza perimeter fence, who have been critical of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over the continuation of the war, praised Donald Trump.
They said: “We can breathe again. Our Matan is home. Our beloved boy has been returned to us after two complex years, and we are so proud of him … A huge, historic, eternal thank you to the president of the United States and his team who worked with dedication and persistence for the rescue and return of our loved ones.
“The joy in our family is mixed with sadness for those murdered and for those who were not returned alive.”
Eitan Mor was among the seven Israeli hostages released to Israel early this morning. Here is a picture of him reunited with his parents this morning.
“In praise and thanksgiving to God, we are happy to announce that our Eitan is home!” his parents wrote on a social media post. “Our beloved Eitan, how much we have waited for you, how much we have waited to finally see you after two years.”
Trump says 'war is over'
Mr Trump arrived in Israel on Monday after travelling from Washington on board Air Force One.
"The war is over," he said on board the presidential plane. Asked about prospects for the region, he added: "I think it's going to normalise."
Mr Trump was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog when he touched down in Israel.
The US president will receive a hero's welcome when he addresses Israel's parliament on Monday. He will be awarded Israel's highest civilian honour later this year, Mr Herzog said.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.
Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation, with airstrikes and ground assaults devastating much of the enclave, killing more than 67,000, according to its Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of those killed were women and children.
The releases came as Trump headed to the region for a peace summit, having declared the war "over".
Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas are to attend Monday's Sharm El-Sheikh summit on Gaza, according to a statement released by the Egyptian presidency.
Trump called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with the Israeli premier "and it was agreed (Netanyahu) would attend the peace summit in which Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will also participate".
In Tel Aviv, hundreds of people gathered on Hostages Square erupted in joy as news broke of the first releases.Among them, Noga shared her pain and joy with AFP.
"I'm torn between emotion and sadness for those who won't be coming back," she said.
On October 7, 2023, militants seized 251 hostages during Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, which led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians.
All but 47 of the hostages were freed in earlier truces, with the families of those that have remained in captivity leading lives of constant pain and worry for their loved ones.
In Gaza, too, the ceasefire has brought relief, but with much of the territory flattened by war, the road to recovery remains long.
"I returned to Sheikh Radwan with my heart trembling," 38-year-old Fatima Salem told AFP after she returned to her neighbourhood in Gaza City.
"My eyes kept searching for landmarks I had lost — nothing looked the same, even the neighbours' houses were gone.
"Despite the exhaustion and fear, I felt like I was coming back to my safe place. I missed the smell of my home, even if it's now just rubble. We will pitch a tent next to it and wait for reconstruction."
The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, welcomed on Monday the release of seven Israeli hostages by Hamas, highlighting Trump's role in this "crucial milestone towards peace".
"President Trump made this breakthrough possible," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
'War is over. Okay?'
Trump's lightning visit to Israel and Egypt aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week's ceasefire and hostage release deal — but comes at a precarious time as Israel and Hamas negotiate what comes next.
Under the U.S. president's proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian militants have handed over the surviving hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange.
Israel expects all 20 living hostages to be released to the Red Cross "early Monday morning", according to a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One at the start of the "very special" visit, Trump brushed off concerns about whether the ceasefire would endure.
"I think it's going to hold. I think people are tired of it. It's been centuries," he said of the fighting.
"The war is over. Okay? You understand that?" the U.S. president added.
In Israel, Trump is due to meet the families of hostages, before addressing the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem.
Final details
His trip is partly a victory lap over the Gaza deal he helped broker with a 20-point peace plan announced in late September.
"Everybody's very excited about this moment in time," Trump said earlier as he prepared to board the plane at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
Negotiators were still wrangling late Sunday over the final arrangements for the exchanges, 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.
Israel has previously rejected at least one of those names.
The sources said the group and its allies had nevertheless "completed all preparations" for handing over to Israel all the living hostages.
Israel does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday.
Under the plan, Hamas is to hand over the remaining 47 hostages, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza war.
Among the prisoners to be released, 250 are security detainees, including many convicted of killing Israelis, while about 1,700 were detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during the war.
Peace summit
After visiting Israel, Trump will head to Egypt where he and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of more than 20 world leaders to back his plan to end the Gaza war and promote Middle East peace.
Trump will be looking to resolve some of the huge uncertainty around the next phases of the peace plan — including Hamas's refusal to disarm and Israel's failure to pledge a full withdrawal from the devastated territory.
Trump insisted he had "guarantees" from both sides and other key regional players about the initial phase of the deal, and the future stages.
Trump also said he would be "proud" to visit Gaza itself, but did not say when such a difficult security challenge would be possible.
A new governing body for devastated Gaza — which Trump himself would head under his own plan — would be established "very quickly," he added.
Under the plan, as Israel conducts a partial withdrawal from Gaza, it will be replaced by a multi-national force coordinated by a U.S.-led command centre in Israel.
Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,806 people, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers credible.
The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.
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