Hezbollah
Hezbollah's ceasefire spin: A master class in turning defeat into victory
The ink on the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire had barely dried when Hezbollah's leader Sheikh Naim Kassem took to the airwaves, not to welcome peace, but to claim triumph.
Hamas handed over all 20 surviving hostages to Israel on Monday, a major step towards ending two years of devastating war in Gaza as U.S. President Donald Trump, who helped broker the truce, proclaimed it was "a great day".
Released hostage Alon Ohel, who was kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and taken to Gaza, gestures upon arrival at Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital, amid a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Petah Tikva, Israel October 13, 2025. Reuters/Stoyan Nenov
Hamas handed over all 20 surviving hostages to Israel on Monday, a major step towards ending two years of devastating war in Gaza as U.S. President Donald Trump, who helped broker the truce, proclaimed it was "a great day".
The Israeli military said it had received the remaining 13 hostages after a first batch of seven arrived earlier on Monday, announcements that prompted cheering, hugging and weeping among thousands waiting at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.
"This is a great day. This is a new beginning," Trump said after arriving to a hero's welcome in Israel where he was addressing the Knesset before flying on to Egypt for a summit aimed at building conditions for a lasting peace in Gaza.
Asked if the two-year Gaza war was over, he said: "Yes."
Buses carrying freed Palestinian detainees as part of the ceasefire and hostage release deal also began moving towards the Palestinian enclave from Israeli prisons, footage on Israeli television showed.
"I am so excited. I am full of happiness. It's hard to imagine how I feel this moment. I didn't sleep all night," said Viki Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, as she travelled to Reim, an Israeli military camp where the hostages were being transferred.
By Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi
The ink on the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire had barely dried when Hezbollah's leader Sheikh Naim Kassem took to the airwaves, not to welcome peace, but to claim triumph.
The Israeli army announced Saturday the establishment of a "yellow line" of demarcation in southern Lebanon, mirroring a similar boundary drawn in Gaza.
Dubai police have arrested alleged Irish crime gang boss Daniel Kinahan in relation to organised criminal activity, Irish media reported on Friday.
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