The exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners brought scenes of emotion and reunions in Israel and the Palestinian territories this Monday (13), in what leaders described as the greatest gesture of reconciliation since the start of the war two years ago.
On the Israeli side, family members waited anxiously in hospitals for their arrival. As the helicopters touched down, relatives rushed in tears to embrace survivors — many weakened, some unable to speak. “We wait for this moment every day,” said a relative, in a statement reproduced by the local press.
Among those freed are young people kidnapped at the Nova festival, soldiers captured in combat and residents of kibbutzim attacked on October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded southern Israel, killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 captive.
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Meanwhile, in Ramallah and other West Bank cities, . Men and women got off the bus to applause, hugs and tears. Many had spent years or decades in Israeli prisons. Among those released are 250 sentenced to life imprisonment and around 1,700 detained without formal charges since 2023.
Palestinian doctors and security forces attended the ceremonies, while families displayed photos of those still imprisoned. In both regions, images of reunions — weeping mothers and children, exhausted soldiers, entire families kneeling on the ground — dominated broadcasts and social media.
During the day, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, spoke at the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), in Jerusalem, .
“It’s not just the end of a war, it’s the end of an era of terror and death. The beginning of an era of faith and hope,” said Trump, while thanking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Arab nations who participated in the negotiations.
According to him, the release of the hostages and the truce represent “an incredible triumph” and mark “the golden age of Israel and the entire region”. The American president further stated that “the forces of chaos and terror are now weakened, isolated and totally defeated” and that the “long and painful nightmare” is over for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Despite the relief and excitement, Gaza’s future remains uncertain. Israel insists on the disarmament of Hamas and the complete withdrawal of the group’s forces from the territory, while Palestinian leaders defend the creation of a new civil authority to administer the enclave.
