Israel celebrates release of remaining hostages as Trump declares ‘dawn of new Middle East’

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First came seven men, re-emerging from Gaza after 738 days of captivity.

Then came the remaining 13, their release inaugurating a momentous day for the Middle East more than two years after a Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked a war that killed tens of thousands. The 20 men were handed over by Hamas, marking the end of their captivity as the last hostages who are still alive after they were seized by militants on Oct. 7, 2023.

The remains of another 28 deceased hostages were also expected to be released, in exchange for 1,950 Palestinian prisoners who began to be delivered by bus on Monday. But by evening, Hamas had promised to return the remains of only four of the dead captives.

The swap between the Israelis and Hamas was part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump last week that has so far halted the war in Gaza. But peace is still uncertain and the two sides have yet to agree on next steps.

“All of our living hostages have come back to us. What wonder,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.

World leaders gathering in Egypt throw their weight behind deal to end war in Gaza

In Tel Aviv, thousands gathered to watch and cheer the return of the remaining living hostages, some wiping away tears as speakers swelled with the sounds of the song They’re Coming Home.

“It’s the first time I’m crying. I didn’t cry for two years,” said Gila Sharabani, a retired lawyer who spent hundreds of days at Hostage Square, a rallying point in central Tel Aviv, bringing hot tea to the families of people taken captive in Gaza and then returning, again and again, as a show of hope.

“Happy is not the word. It’s too small,” she said.

“Unbelievable. Unbelievable.”

The U.S. President came to greet released hostages and speak to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, before departing for Egypt for a peace conference intended to chart a new course for the war-torn region.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended that conference alongside many other foreign leaders. But Mr. Netanyahu declined the invitation, his office said in a statement Monday, citing a conflict with a Jewish holiday. Hamas did not attend either.

“The release of hostages must be a turning point toward lasting peace,” Mr. Carney said in a statement, in which he paid tribute to Canadians killed in the Hamas-led attacks two years ago: Vivian Silver, Netta Epstein, Alexandre Look, Judih Weinstein, Shir Georgy, Ben Mizrachi and Adi Vital-Kaploun.

In Egypt, Mr. Trump jointly signed a document with the leaders of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar that he said contained “a lot of rules and regulations and lots of other things.” The document was not made public.

Many in Israel mixed gratitude to the Israel Defence Forces with thanks to Mr. Trump, including some Knesset members who wore red ballcaps with the words: TRUMP THE PEACE PRESIDENT.

“As far as I’m concerned, the war is over,” Mr. Trump said as he arrived at the Knesset, where Speaker Amir Ohana called him the best friend Israel has ever had. The U.S. President smiled as Knesset members chanted: “Thank you, Trump.”

Mr. Trump called Monday “the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”

The war in Gaza, he added, had been “getting bad. It was getting heated.” He recalled telling Mr. Netanyahu that he would be remembered more for ceasing hostilities “than if you kept this thing going, going, going – kill, kill, kill.”

Mr. Trump promised the U.S. would be “a partner” in the next stages for peace in the region but made no commitment of troops or other tangible contributions to safeguard stability.

He received standing ovations for his speech, although two Knesset members were removed after holding up a sign protesting against the U.S. President.

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Mr. Netanyahu, meanwhile, struck a defiant note, telling critics of Israel’s fierce war: “We were right.”

Israel killed more than 67,000 people in its war on Gaza, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government. An independent United Nations commission said Israel had committed genocide, a charge the country denies.

“Our enemies now understand just how powerful and just how determined Israel is. They understand that attacking Israel on Oct. 7 was a catastrophic mistake. They understand that Israel is strong, and that Israel is here to stay,” Mr. Netanyahu said.

Much remains uncertain, including how long the fragile ceasefire can hold, and what role Hamas will accept in Gaza, where its armed militants immediately returned to the streets as hostilities with Israel ceased.

Trump urges Israel to seize chance for peace, calls for Netanyahu pardon

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“The return of the hostages is one thing, but the end of the war, that’s very important,” said Alex Grab, a retired history professor. In that, he said, “I’m not confident at all.”

He trusts neither Hamas to keep its bargain, nor Israel’s Prime Minister to hold to his commitments for peace: “I don’t think that Netanyahu is interested. He was forced to do this by Trump.”

The war, too, has left deep scars.

“Gaza was flattened, destroyed,” Mr. Grab said. “Israel is in crisis. Despite their success now, the euphoria now, I think Israel has got a lot of issues.”

But in Israel, the release of hostages marks the conclusion of a lengthy national agony. At the country’s main airport, volunteers handed Israeli flags to arriving passengers. News footage of hostages moving in Red Cross vehicles was broadcast live in cafés, on phones and in countless living rooms across the country.

Those pictures showed one hostage pumping his fist in celebration as he arrived in a hospital, while images distributed by the government showed young men embracing their families in emotional reunions.

“For a few days, we were very nervous, because we didn’t know anyone’s condition,” said Auneg Rahamim, whose husband’s cousin is Matan Angrest, an Israeli soldier among those released Monday.

“When we were told that he’s walking on his feet and he’s smiling and he’s okay – nothing else matters.”

She patted her pregnant belly. “All we wanted was Matan to be back home to meet his future cousin,” she said at Ichilov Medical Center, where staff placed an enormous “Welcome” sign on the concrete outside the hospital, visible from the rooftop helipad where several hostages arrived early in the afternoon.

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In a brief video call distributed on social media, the soldier said he had persevered “out of love for the country and the flag.” As friends gathered outside the hospital for a loud rendition of a football song, he stuck his hands out from a hospital window, fingers dancing to the beat.

The return of hostages is “a hole in the heart that’s getting filled now, and it’s going to have to get healed,” said Camelia Mendelovich, a friend who has helped to support the family of Elkana Bohbot, who had helped to plan the music festival that was attacked by militants on Oct. 7, 2023.

The length of his captivity was evident in a sign Ms. Mendelovich carried, imprinted with 34, his age when he was taken hostage, scratched out and replaced with a 36, his age now.

“Israeli resilience won,” said Yoseph Haddad, an influential social-media personality with nearly a million followers on Instagram.

“We’ve been in the last two years, fighting on seven fronts – Yemen, the Houthis; Lebanon, Hezbollah; Ansar Allah in Iraq; we have Syria; we have Hamas; the West Bank; the [Iranian Revolutionary Guards],” he said in an interview.

“And we’re still standing. Standing tall.”

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