ABIR /EPA
Israelis celebrate the release of Hamas hostages as they watch from a screen in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 13, 2025.
The day most awaited by the Israelites has arrived: all men, all in good health, are free today, 738 days later. Bodies of 28 dead hostages only arrive later. Trump speaks in Israel.
The day has finally arrived: Hamas this Monday released all 20 living Israeli hostages it still held in Gaza since , while Israel began releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire that put a pause on the two-year-old war in the Gaza Strip.
The last 20 living Israeli hostages were released after 738 days of captivitythe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed. They are all men, and will be reunited with their families after undergoing medical examinations in hospitals. According to Israeli media, everyone is in good condition.
Shortly afterwards, the first Palestinian prisoners released by Israel left the Israeli prison of Ofer on Red Cross buses, heading to the city of Ramallah, in the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Crowds welcomed the buses that arrived in Ramallah. At least one bus crossed into the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas.
In a note published on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic on the Internet, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa “welcomes the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, including Portuguese nationals”, without indicating how many, “underlining the importance of this first step on the way to a just and lasting peace”.
Who are the hostages
Seven of the Israeli hostages were released early in the morning and are now in Israeli territory. A second group of 13 live hostages who were still in the Gaza Strip were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross shortly afterwards.
This is Nimrod Cohen (20), captured in a tank near the border with Gaza; Rom Braslavski (21) and Bar Kupershtein (23), kidnapped while working at the Nova music festival and Evyatar David (24), Maxim Herkin (37), Elkana Bohbot (36), Segev Kalfon (27) and Yosef Haim Ohana (24), also captured at the festival.
Also Matan Zangauker (25), kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz together with his partner; the Argentine brothers Ariel (28) and David Cunio (35), the first captured with his girlfriend on kibbutz Nir Oz and the second at his home with his wife and twin daughters; Avinatan Or (32), whose girlfriend was captured and later rescued in June 2024; and Eitan Horn (38), an Argentine kidnapped while visiting his older brother.
Before these, the first seven to be released, moments before, arrived in Israeli territory under the care of members of the IDF.
“The returning hostages, Eitan Mor, Alon Ohel, Ziv Berman, Gali Berman, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Omri Miran and Matan Angrest, accompanied by members of the Israel Defense Forces, crossed the border into the State of Israel recently,” the message states.
Eitan Mor is 25 years old and was taken hostage while working as a security guard at the Nova festival; twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman (27) were kidnapped from their home on kibbutz Kfar Aza; and Guy Gilboa Dalal (24) was taken hostage at the music festival.
Matan Angrist (22) was serving as a soldier and was captured in his burning tank on kibbutz Nahal Oz; Omri Mira (48) is the oldest of the hostages and was captured in his vehicle, in front of his wife and children; and Alon Ahel (24) is one of four Nova participants who were at the shelter where 16 other people were killed.
The hostages’ first destination is the Reim base, located near the border with Gaza, where they undergo a health assessment before being reunited with their families. From there they will be transported by helicopter to hospitals on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
Remains of other hostages handed over later
The release of the live hostages is followed by the handover of remains of the 28 hostages remaining deceased, a process that Israel does not expect to conclude this Monday.
The Red Cross will hand over the remains to troops in Gaza and, inside Palestinian territory, a “brief ceremony” and a Jewish prayer will be held.
Celebration in Tel Aviv
Joy took over the thousands of people gathered in “Hostage Square”, in the center of the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, after Israeli television channels broadcast images of the release of the first hostages.
Tens of thousands of Israelis watched the releases on public screens across the country.
The ceasefire came into effect on Friday as part of a peace plan brokered by US President Donald Trump. In exchange for the release of the hostages, Israel will release around 1,700 Palestinian prisoners – including up to 250 sentenced to life imprisonment.
Trump in Israel: “the terror is over”
US President Donald Trump arrived in Israel to attend the handover of hostages held by Hamas and participate in a session of the Knesset (Parliament) during a visit lasting just a few hours.
“This is not just the end of a war. This is the end of the era of terror and death and the beginning of the era of faith, hope and God,” Trump said in the Israeli parliament.
“It is the beginning of a great concord and lasting harmony for Israel and all the nations of what will soon be a truly magnificent region. I believe in this with great conviction. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East”, announced the US president.
Trump was received at Tel Aviv airport by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, as well as members of the American delegation already in Israel, led by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his daughter, Ivanka Trump. He proceeded to Jerusalem under strict security measures and, once in the holy city, he will meet the families of the hostages and give a speech in English before Parliament.
The American leader is expected to continue his trip from Israel to the Egyptian tourist city of Sharm el-Sheikh to participate in the peace summit that will be attended by more than 30 countries, more than 20 of them represented by their heads of state or government, where the peace agreement will be signed, without the presence of Hamas or Israel.
