All 20 living Hamas hostages back home in Israel
DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA STRIP—All 20 remaining living Hamas hostages are back in Israel from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said on Monday.
The military said it received two batches of hostages from the Red Cross.
President Donald Trump was in Israel on Monday to celebrate the US-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, an agreement that he declared effectively ended the war and opened the door to building a durable peace in the Middle East.
Palestinians, meanwhile, awaited the release of 1,950 prisoners held by Israel. In the West Bank, an armored vehicle flying an Israeli flag fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a crowd waiting near Ofer Prison. As drones buzzed overhead, the group scattered.
The tear gas followed the circulation of a flier warning that anyone supporting what it called “terrorist organizations” risked arrest.
All released Israeli hostages were expected to be reunited with their families and undergo medical checks in Israel.
The bodies of the remaining 28 dead hostages are also expected to be handed over as part of the deal, although the exact timing remained unclear.
‘A great honor’
As Trump disembarked Air Force One, a convoy of vehicles carried into Israel the first hostages released by Hamas as part of the deal.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted Trump on the tarmac as a military band played. In Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, the site of continuous demonstrations during two years of war, the crowd cheered for Trump.
The US leader was then whisked off to the Knesset, where he’s scheduled to speak to Israeli lawmakers. After arriving, he signed the guest book.
“This is my great honor—a great and beautiful day,” Trump wrote. “A new beginning.”
Amir Ohana, the Knesset speaker, welcomed Trump by saying, “We’ve been longing for this day.” Some people in the gallery wore red hats that said “Trump, The Peace President.”
The moment remains fragile, with Israel and Hamas still in the early stages of implementing the first phase of a plan intended to end the conflict that began with the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement calls for the release of the final 48 hostages held by Hamas; the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel; a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza; and a partial pullback by Israeli forces from Gaza’s main cities.
Overjoyed
With families overjoyed at the impending reunions and Palestinians eager for a surge of humanitarian assistance, Trump thinks there is a narrow window to reshape the region and reset long-fraught relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
“The war is over, OK?” Trump told reporters traveling with him aboard Air Force One.
“I think people are tired of it,” he said, emphasizing that he believed the ceasefire would hold because of that.
The Republican president said the chance of peace was enabled by his administration’s support of Israel’s decimation of Iranian proxies, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The White House said momentum is also building because Arab and Muslim states are demonstrating a renewed focus on resolving the broader, decadeslong Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, in some cases, deepening relations with the United States.
Families and friends of the hostages who gathered in a square in Tel Aviv broke into wild cheers as Israeli television channels announced that the hostages were in the hands of the Red Cross. Tens of thousands of Israelis watched the transfers at public screenings across the country.
In the initial photos, those released appeared less gaunt than some of the hostages freed in January.
