Relatives and friends of Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, react as they watch broadcasts related to his release as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, in Lavon, Israel, Oct. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Rami Shlush

Jubilation filled Israeli streets on Monday morning as all 20 living hostages abducted by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, still being held captive in Gaza were returned to Israel.

Air Force One, carrying US President Donald Trump for a lightning visit, landed in Israel at 9:20 am local time, just after the first group of hostages — Alon Ohel, Matan Angrest, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Eitan Mor, and Omri Miran — arrived on Israeli soil.

The second wave included Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, brothers David and Ariel Cuneo, Evyatar David, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Avinatan Or, and Matan Zangauker.

“It’s official: There are no more living Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote in a social media post.

Hamas handed over the hostages — dressed in the same pseudo-military uniforms the Islamist group had forced previous captives to wear — to the International Committee of the Red Cross. While they were being transported, masked operatives patched video calls between the hostages and their families in Israel, in what appeared to be a cynical ploy to control the narrative. The ceasefire agreement barred public parades and ceremonies, unlike the earlier hostage-release deals in January and February.

Julie Kuperstein, the mother of hostage Bar Kuperstein, told Israel’s Channel 12 News she received a missed call from “Al-Aqsa Brigades,” referring to Hamas’s military wing. “I called them back, and they answered me! All of a sudden, I see Bar!” she said. “He said, ‘Mom, everything is OK! Mom, everything is OK!'” She spoke through tears, shouting in jubilation.

The Red Cross subsequently transferred the hostages to the IDF inside Gaza, where military medical teams conducted initial examinations before they traveled to the Re’im military base to reunite with their families.

Yosef-Chaim Ohana’s father reunites with his son and it is a hug for the ages 🥹 pic.twitter.com/2izIBicSFg

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) October 13, 2025

Footage of the reunions showed parents clutching their children in tears. Zvika Mor, who had opposed releasing terrorists even for his son’s freedom, could not speak and only sobbed as he held Eitan.

After 738 days in captivity from Hamas terrorists, hostage Eitan Mor is reunited with his parents. 🥹🥲🙏🏽

PRAISE GOD! pic.twitter.com/zWggdyfXnV

— Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) October 13, 2025

Einav Zangauker — who had led an unrelenting campaign urging the Israeli government to strike a hostage-release deal at any cost — embraced her son, crying, “My life, my life, I love you, you are a hero, you are a champion!”

Einav Zangauker reunites with her son Matan, 25, after a heroic two-year campaign across Israel, during which she tirelessly pressed the government to end the war and bring the hostages home. pic.twitter.com/a5UkFkVyxm

— ‏Tal Schneider טל שניידר تال شنايدر (@talschneider) October 13, 2025

Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where tens of thousands have gathered for protests and vigils over the past two years, erupted in cheers as footage of the releases appeared on giant screens. People waved American flags and posters thanking Trump. When news broke that Air Force One had landed, the crowd shrieked with delight.

The Trump administration led the effort to push the US-brokered ceasefire and hostage-release deal, which halted fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, over the finish line. Of the 251 hostages initially abducted during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, 48 remained in captivity entering Monday, and only 20 of them were still alive.

The freed hostages appeared to be in relatively stable condition, including Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, who had been shown emaciated in Hamas propaganda videos.

Each hostage received a welcome kit from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with a handwritten note reading: “On behalf of the entire Israeli people, welcome back! We waited for you and embrace you.”

President Isaac Herzog quoted from the Book of Jeremiah on X: “And the children shall return to their own borders.” He added, “With thanks to God we welcome our loved ones home. We are waiting for everyone — every last one.”

Rachel Goldberg-Polin and her husband, Jon, whose son Hersh was murdered in captivity, also invoked scripture, calling on social media for people to give thanks by reciting Psalm 126, which speaks of captives returning to Zion.

In his address at Israel’s parliament later on Monday, Trump said, “People are dancing in the streets – not just in Israel – about what is happening today.”

“What a victory it’s been,” he said, thanking “the almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

“Today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace,” he added.

Under the deal, Israel agreed to release 1,950 Palestinian security prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences for deadly terrorist attacks, as well as 1,700 Palestinians arrested since Oct. 7, 2023. The prisoners were to be freed before the return of the 28 remaining dead hostages.

However, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said only four of the 28 bodies would be returned to Israel on Monday, calling it a “blatant” violation of the ceasefire agreement.

“This represents a blatant breach of the agreement by Hamas. We expect Israel’s government and the mediators to take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice,” the forum said. “The families of the deceased hostages are enduring especially difficult days filled with deep sorrow. We will not abandon any hostage. The mediators must enforce the agreement’s terms and ensure Hamas pays a price for this violation.”