Israel on Monday morning saw the return of all 20 living hostages from Gaza, two years after their kidnapping by Hamas during the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
The hostages were released in two waves, the first comprising Matan Angrest, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor and Alon Ohel.
The seven, accompanied by Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency officers, crossed into Israel at around 9:30 a.m. local time, according to the IDF.
"Our beloved Eitan, how long we have waited for you, how long we have waited to finally see you after two years. The last time we saw you was today two years ago, on the Hoshana Rabbah, and today we embrace you once again," said Eitan's parents, Tzvika and Efrat Mor.
"Our Eitan has come back to us thanks to the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and other security forces, our heroes who went out with self-sacrifice to destroy the enemy," they continued, thanking the government and people of Israel, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump.
Hours after the initial release, an additional batch of 13 Israeli captives was handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip.
The second batch included Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, brothers David and Ariel Cuneo, Evyatar David, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kupershtein, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.
"It's official: There are no more living Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity," the IDF wrote in a social media post upon their return.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said that all government agencies would continue to accompany the freed hostages and their families "throughout the entire process of reception and rehabilitation."
Israeli President Isaac Herzog tweeted, "And the children shall return to their own borders," citing from the Book of Jeremiah.
"With thanks to God we welcome our loved ones home. We are waiting for everyone — every last one," the Israeli head of state added.
The hostages were received by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which transferred them to the IDF inside Gaza. There, military medical teams carried out initial examinations.
If their condition permitted it, the freed hostages traveled in an IDF convoy to the Re'im military base, where their families were waiting. The base had been prepared with 20 private rooms designated for reunions and thorough medical assessments.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir led "Operation Returning Home" from the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Headquarters of the Hostages and Missing Persons on Monday morning.
"This is a very significant day; we are succeeding in implementing a main part of the war's defined objectives," Zamir told commanders and soldiers as the operation got underway, according to an IDF readout.
"After two years of one of the hardest wars we have known, this event is concluded, but not yet complete, and we are closely monitoring the situation in the field," he added. "The IDF will not cease for a moment in carrying out this sacred mission, until the return of the last hostage."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, included a personal note to the returning hostages in a reception kit prepared for them, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Monday morning.
The kit contains clothing and personal items, as well as a laptop, cellphone and tablet to assist the freed hostages in reintegrating, according to the PMO.
The handwritten note from the Netanyahus reads: “On behalf of the entire Israeli people, welcome back! We waited for you and embrace you.”
Following the reunion at Re'im, the hostages are to be flown to hospitals across the country, which have already cleared dedicated departments.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian prisoners set for release boarded buses outside Israeli jails. They departed for the border crossings after all surviving hostages were confirmed to be safely in Israeli hands.
Jerusalem agreed to release 1,950 Palestinian security prisoners, including 250 who are serving life sentences for deadly attacks, as well as 1,700 Palestinians arrested since Oct. 7, 2023.
After the freed hostages arrived in Israel, the Red Cross convoy was expected to return to Gaza to recover the bodies of the 28 deceased as outlined in the agreement with Hamas.
However, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, which represents hostage families, said it was "shocked and dismayed" after learning that only four bodies would be returned on Monday.
The organization described the limited return as "a blatant breach of the agreement by Hamas" and pressed the Israeli government and the mediators to "take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice."
The bodies will be draped in Israeli flags and transported to Re'im, where they will be greeted by an honor guard and a prayer led by a military rabbi.
Israel’s Ministry of Religious Services is prepared to then receive the remains at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir in Tel Aviv for final examination.
The ministry’s director-general, Yehudah Avidan, said Sunday that the institute holds intelligence files on each of the fallen to help expedite their identification.
Avidan told Reshet Bet that most of the 28 murdered hostages have already been declared dead by a special committee led by the Chief Rabbinate, allowing widows to remarry in accordance with Jewish law.
“There’s no chance of error,” he stressed, explaining that the committee acted solely on solid evidence provided by Israeli intelligence agencies.
Noting that some families already observed the seven-day mourning period known as shivah, Avidan said that the Religious Services Ministry would assist the families in holding a “new funeral.”
Jerusalem "is committed to bringing back all the hostages held by the enemy and will act to achieve this mission with determination and tireless effort," said the PMO.
