Israel announced on Monday that the last 20 surviving hostages had finally returned home after two years in Hamas captivity, marking a historic moment as US President Donald Trump received a standing ovation from Israeli lawmakers for brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Trump’s swift visit to Israel came just before a peace summit scheduled in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh, which he will co-chair.
The American leader, who declared the Gaza conflict “over,” said the ceasefire would hold.
In Tel Aviv, crowds gathered in Hostages Square to celebrate the return of the captives, their joy mingled with grief for those who did not survive. Tears, songs, and cheers filled the air as the news broke.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel agreed to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from its jails. In Ramallah, large crowds welcomed the first buses carrying freed detainees, chanting “Allahu akbar” in celebration.
“Welcome home,” Israel’s foreign ministry posted on X, rejoicing over the hostages’ return.
Among the crowd in Tel Aviv, Noga expressed mixed emotions.
“I’m torn between emotion and sadness for those who won’t be coming back,” she said.
Israel stated that not all the remains of deceased hostages would be returned immediately. The agreement also stipulates that Hamas will hand over the bodies of 27 hostages who died in captivity, along with the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict.
Those set for release by Israel include 250 security detainees, many convicted of killing Israelis, as well as around 1,700 individuals detained during the Gaza war.
A painful history
The current ceasefire traces back to the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault that claimed 1,219 lives, most of them civilians, and led to the abduction of 251 hostages.
While the majority were freed in earlier truces, 47 remained in captivity until now, their families living in constant anguish.
In Gaza, the truce has brought relief amid devastation. Large swathes of the territory have been reduced to rubble.
“I returned to Sheikh Radwan with my heart trembling,” said 38-year-old Fatima Salem after revisiting her neighborhood 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.”
‘War is over. Okay?’
Trump’s Middle East tour celebrates his mediation in the ceasefire and hostage release deal, even as uncertainty looms over what comes next.
Speaking aboard Air Force One before landing in Israel, Trump dismissed concerns about the truce’s durability.
“I think it’s going to hold. I think people are tired of it. It’s been centuries,” he told reporters.
“The war is over. Okay? You understand that?”
During his visit, Trump was scheduled to meet families of freed hostages before addressing the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem.
Shaping Gaza’s future
Trump’s 20-point peace framework, unveiled in late September, paved the way for the ceasefire.
Negotiations continued into Sunday night as Hamas pushed for Israel to include seven senior Palestinian figures among those to be freed — a demand Israel had resisted in the past.
After his visit to Israel, Trump is expected to join Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in hosting a summit of global leaders to support the Gaza peace roadmap.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is due to attend, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will skip the event due to a religious holiday.
The summit aims to address lingering questions about Gaza’s reconstruction, Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and Israel’s lack of a full withdrawal pledge.
Trump insisted he had secured “guarantees” from both sides and key regional players for the initial and future phases of the agreement.
A new governing body for Gaza, which Trump said he would personally oversee, is expected to be established soon. Under the plan, Israel will gradually pull back its forces, to be replaced by a multinational peacekeeping force coordinated from a US-led command centre in Israel.
Meanwhile, Hamas has urged Trump and other mediators to ensure Israel adheres to the truce.
“We call on all mediators and international parties to continue monitoring Israel’s conduct and to ensure it does not resume its aggression against our people in Gaza,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,869 people, figures considered credible by the United Nations. More than half of the victims are women and children.
