Red Cross en route to pick up several more hostages * Families able to speak to some who have not yet been released * Trump’s plane overflies Hostages Square * US president says Gaza deal may be ‘biggest thing I’ve ever done’
Today, 2:07 am
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.
WATCH: Hoshana Rabba prayers continue at Hostages Square as freed captives return to Israel
Hoshana Rabba prayers, with the traditional four species — palm frond, citron, myrtle and willow branches — in hand, continue to take place on the final day of Sukkot, at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, as the worshippers sing the Biblical verse, “And the sons shall return to their borders,” as the hostages make their way home.
Tonight marks the second anniversary, on the Hebrew calendar, of the October 7, 2023, attack in which the hostages were kidnapped, on the holiday of Simchat Torah.
Emotional footage emerges of families speaking with hostages ahead of their release
Emotional footage continues to emerge showing Israeli families speaking with their loved ones while they are still in Hamas captivity — their first contact in nearly two years — as anticipation builds ahead of the captives’ expected release in the coming hours.
Avishai David, the father of hostage Evyatar David, tells Channel 12 that he and his family are waiting to “hug, smell, and breathe” their son upon his release, after speaking with him in a video call while he remains in Hamas captivity.
In a video, Avi Ohana, the father of hostage Yosef Haim Ohana, is seen speaking with his son, telling him that “everyone is waiting” for the hostages’ return.
“He looks good… I saw his smile — it reminded me of his smile from two years ago,” Avi tells Channel 12 after the call.
In an emotional clip, Tami Braslavski, the mother of hostage Rom Braslavski, is seen telling her son she loves him and is waiting for his return.
“We saw Rom and were so excited to see him… We’ve been waiting for so long,” Tami tells Channel 12. “He told me, ‘Mom, don’t worry — what will happen will happen.’”
Other families also reported receiving calls from loved ones still in captivity, including Bar Kuperstein, Elkana Bohbot, Nimrod Cohen, brothers David and Ariel Cunio, and Matan Zangauker — all of whom have been released or are slated to be released shortly.
Some families of hostages still believed to be alive in Hamas captivity said they have not yet received calls, though additional phone contact may continue throughout the morning.
Pictures show ex-hostages Alon Ohel, Gali Berman in IDF hands
Photos show released hostage Alon Ohel meeting with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip after being freed from Hamas captivity this morning.
Ohel and six other hostages have since been escorted out of Gaza to an IDF facility near the border.
Another picture shows Gali Berman with a soldier.
The photos were apparently taken inside Gaza.
MK Ayman Odeh, upon hostage release, says ‘joy is mixed with pain’
Arab-Israeli MK Ayman Odeh, chair of the Hadash-Ta’al party, welcomes the release of the first seven Israeli hostages as part of the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but says his “joy is mixed with pain.”
“We have fought for two years for this moment, for the end of the war and a comprehensive deal. We are happy, but our joy is mixed with pain, because of the terrible crimes that were committed and the tunnels of blood our land has absorbed,” he says in a statement, referring to Israel’s war in Gaza — launched in response to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks in which the hostages were abducted — of which Odeh has been highly critical.
The leader of the left-wing Arab-majority opposition party adds that Israel and the Palestinians must “continue the struggle” to achieve a peaceful resolution to the wider conflict, end the occupation — referring to Israel’s ongoing military control of the West Bank — and respect the rights of both peoples.
WATCH: Red Cross vehicles arrive at hostage handover site in southern Gaza
The Arabic-language Al-Araby channel is broadcasting the second stage of the hostage release in southern Gaza, filming from a distance.
According to the reporter on the livestream, the transfer of the hostages to the Red Cross is not taking place in Khan Younis but in a less populated area between the southern and central parts of the Strip. Red Cross vehicles have now arrived at the handover site. According to the report, this is the second and final phase of the release of living hostages, during which 13 hostages will be handed over to the Red Cross.
Footage shows hostages leave Hamas hands, enter Israel
The IDF publishes footage showing the moment released hostages Matan Angrest, brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, Alon Ohel, Eitan Mor, Omri Miran, and Guy Gilboa-Dala crossed the border into Israel after being freed from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.
The seven have since been brought to an IDF facility near Re’im for an initial checkup and to meet with their families.
Earlier, Arab media outlets published footage from minutes after the hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City showing Red Cross vehicles leaving the area, along with vehicles belonging to Hamas fighters.
Armed Hamas men in the uniforms of the group’s military wing could be seen at the scene.
It appears the exchange itself took place in a closed compound, with no access granted to the public or journalists.
EU welcomes release of hostages from Gaza, crediting Trump
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, welcomes the release of seven Israeli hostages by Hamas, highlighting US President Donald Trump’s role in this “crucial milestone towards peace.”
“President Trump made this breakthrough possible,” she writes on X.
Aryeh Deri celebrates hostages’ return: ‘This is the day the Lord has made’
Shas chair MK Aryeh Deri celebrates the release of the first seven Israeli hostages, writing on X, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Our dear brothers, how long we have waited for you. Welcome home!”
The biblical verse is commonly cited in Israel to mark moments of joy. It is also traditionally recited during today’s festive prayers on the holiday of Sukkot.
The seven hostages are the first to be freed under the current ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The ultra-Orthodox leader, at last week’s security cabinet meeting, supported the decision to ratify the US-backed plan to begin a ceasefire in Gaza and return the 48 remaining Israeli hostages there in return for Palestinian security prisoners.
Trump on way to Knesset with Netanyahu
US President Donald Trump is on his way to the Knesset in Jerusalem, riding in his armored presidential vehicle, known as The Beast, together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara.
According to Netanyahu’s office, Trump spontaneously invited the Netanyahus on board “The Beast” in a departure from protocol.
Before getting in the car, Trump greeted his daughter Ivanka, and then spoke with her husband Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, all of whom met him upon his arrival.
Coalition, opposition put aside differences to celebrate hostage releases, Trump visit
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle gather in the halls of the Knesset, eating and mingling with dignitaries from the United States.
While Israel’s parliament is festive ahead of US President Donald Trump’s scheduled speech, with many lawmakers expressing optimism for the future, their joy is also tinged with sadness for the losses of the last two years — and, for some, anxiety regarding the possibility of renewed fighting in the future.
“This is a morning that combines joy, pain and hope,” Evgeny Sova, a lawmaker for the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu opposition party tells The Times of Israel. “Nothing is more important than the lives of the hostages, even at the heavy price we are paying… We are paying a price for the negligence of October 7.”
Similarly, MK Vladimir Beliak, of the centrist Yesh Atid party, says today’s hostage release “maybe [marks] a new beginning and change in Israeli society,” and hopes there will be an “alternative government in the Gaza Strip, which is not Hamas, which will also open a path to normalization and, above all, allow us to turn to addressing the internal problems of the State of Israel.”
Shas lawmaker Yinon Azoulay says Hamas’s “era in Gaza is over” and that Israel must strike every time the group raises its head. “And I’m sure that the President of the United States also understands this.”
MK Simcha Rothman of the coalition’s hard-right Religious Zionism party, which opposed the deal, says the US president “means what he says” about the war being over.
“He is saying that if this agreement is implemented as written…Hamas will not control the Strip. Israel remains in the Philadelphi Corridor and on the perimeter,” and neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority will rule the strip…. Will it really be the end of the war. I’m skeptical…Because if we fail in this, Hamas will get stronger again and we will arrive at October 7 again.”
