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
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday questioned whether former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair would serve on a new "Board of Peace" that is intended to oversee the governance of Gaza, amid ongoing criticisms of Blair for his role in the Iraq War.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict only dealt with Gaza and was not specific enough on Palestinian statehood.
When a U.S. president of Donald Trump’s stature sets his sights on the Middle East, the global stage shifts. Monday’s summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Trump himself, is not merely a ceremonial close to the latest round of bloodshed in Gaza.
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