Israeli hostage release: Wild celebrations as hostages freed; Trump arrives in Tel Aviv

About 20 hostages held by the Hamas terrorist group for 737 days were released from Gaza on Monday, locking in a ceasefire that could lead to a permanent peace in the Palestinian enclave.

As news that seven hostages were on their way home was reported at 8.20am, local time, wild cheers broke out in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, where an estimated 6000 people had gather in what has been dubbed hostages’ square. Many held posters of individual captees or waved Israeli flags.

One of the released hostages, 25-year-old Matan Zangauker, was shown on a large television screen speaking to his mother on a video call from within the Gaza Strip. “There’s no war, it’s over,” Einav Zangauker told her son. “You are coming home!”

Another 13 or so hostages were handed over the Red Cross about three hours later, according to Israeli public radio. They were also allowed to contact their families from within Gaza under the supervision of masked gunmen.

Rom Braslavski, a security guard at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel when it was attacked by Hamas fighters two years ago, told his parents: “Everything is fine.”

Not long after dawn, three four-wheel drive Red Cross vehicles with tinted windows left a compound in Gaza, escorted by black-clad men on foot carrying assault rifles. Men and boys lined the road, watching quietly, while many filmed the convoy on their phones.

The first photos of the released hostages were published by the Israeli government around 10.30am. Looking thin but physically unharmed, they were shown greeting Israeli soldiers at a reception point.

Among them was Matan Angrest, an Israeli soldier who was in a tank attacked by Hamas fighters near the Gaza perimeter fence on 7 October, 2023.

A video at the time showed the a 22-year-old being pulled out from the tank unconscious and injured. Hostages released earlier said he suffered from chronic asthma, untreated burns and infections.

Trump arrives

While the hostages were leaving Gaza, Mr Trump was landing in Tel Aviv on Air Force One. The agreement “could be the biggest thing I was ever involved in,” he told reporters on the plane. “The war is over, you understand that?” he said.

Mr Trump was met on tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport by a military honour guard, Israeli president Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, their wives, daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner shortly before 10am local time.

Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu could be seen deep in conversation as they were taken in the American presidential limousine to Jerusalem, where Mr Trump was to give a speech to the Knesset, or parliament. Israel plans to issue Mr Trump the country’s highest civilian award, the presidential medal of honour, in coming months, Mr Herzog’s office said.

At the Knesset the president signed a book commemorating his presence with the words: “A great and beautiful day. A new beginning. Donald J. Trump.”

The released hostages were taken to an Israeli military unit within the Gaza Strip, and from there were expected to go by road to the Reim military base in southern Israel for initial medical check-ups and reunification with close relatives. Transport helicopters were on standby to take them to three hospitals in the Tel Aviv equipped with specialist units where they will begin their recovery.

As the hostages were returning to Israel, the Israeli government prepared to release about 1,700 Palestinian prisoners to Gaza, where they were arrested during the war. Another 250 serving with life sentences will be sent into exile, according to the peace plan proposed by the US.

Hamas authorities set up a reception centre for their arrival back in Gaza.

Invasion

Hamas captured 251 people on October 7, 2023, when an estimated 6000 armed Palestinians crossed from the Gaza Strip in the first large-scale invasion of Israeli since 1948.

An Israeli blockade imposed back then was lifted after Hamas agreed to a ceasefire last week. Supplies have been pouring in, delivered by international aid agencies, while Hamas has reasserted its control over the enclave by calling up 7000 fighters for duty, the BBC reported.

Most of the hostages captured two years ago were released, starting with children and the elderly, in return for short-term ceasefires. All the remaining hostages are men, mostly in their 20s, who have been held in tunnels and apartments with no direct contact with the outside world. Their release is meant to end the war.

Observers say getting Hamas to disarm and relinquish power could be difficult. “They’re not out of the woods yet,” said Colin Rubenstein, the executive director of the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council lobby group.

After meeting the hostages’ families and giving a speech to the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, Mr Trump will fly to the Egyptian town of Sharm El-Sheikh, where he will co-host, with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a gathering of about 20 world leaders.

Those attending include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Mahmoud Abbas, a Hamas rival and president of the Palestinian Authority. They will discuss how to implement the next phases of Mr Trump’s plan, including the disarmament of Hamas and the appointment of an international authority to manage Gaza, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend.

Victims

Despite elaborate care planned for them, the hostages’ physical and psychological recovery will be difficult, experts say. A survivor of the massacre at the Nova music festival in Southern Israel on October 7, Roei Shalev, killed himself on Friday.

Shot during the attack, he watched his girlfriend and best friend murdered. Mr Shalev was found dead in his burned car north of Tel Aviv after posting a message on social media saying he felt he could not go on.

Geoffrey Majzner spoke to his sister, Galit Carbone, as Hamas fighters entered her house. The Sydney-born mother was the only Australian to die in the attack. Speaking at a lunch in Sydney on Monday, Mr Majzner expressed doubt he would see the hostages freed.

“Frankly I cannot see it till the moment I see them on Israeli soil and the bodies in the coffins,” he told The Nightly. “I won’t believe it until I see it.”