Hamas released the last living Israeli hostages on Monday as part of a ceasefire deal, a major step toward ending two years of ruinous war in Gaza, as U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the Israeli parliament to urge the country to turn military success into peace.
The Israeli military said it had received all the confirmed hostages alive after their transfer from Gaza by the Red Cross, sparking cheers, hugs and tears among the thousands of hostages waiting at “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv.
Some of the nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees released by Israel as part of the deal, ahead of a summit in Egypt to cement the ceasefire, have begun arriving in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank, some hoisted on the shoulders of elated relatives.
Trump addresses Israeli parliament
“The skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises over a Holy Land that is finally at peace,” Trump told the Knesset, saying a “long nightmare” for Israelis and Palestinians was over.
“Now is the time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate reward of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East,” he said before leaving for Egypt to attend a peace summit.
However, formidable obstacles remain to a lasting resolution to the Gaza war, let alone the broader generations-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict or other deep divisions in the region.
Friends and families of the freed hostages, as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange and a Gaza ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, gather outside the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel October 13, 2025. REUTERS
Follow-up summit to address the future of Gaza
The release of Palestinian hostages and detainees marked the first phase of the Gaza deal reached last week in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where Monday’s summit will be held.
More than 20 world leaders are expected to discuss how to implement the next steps in Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
The agreement came two years after Hamas’ cross-border assault on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages – the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Israeli airstrikes, bombings and ground offensives have since killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and ravaged much of the enclave.
A global hunger watchdog says Gaza City and its surrounding areas are suffering from famine affecting more than half a million people, while most of the enclave’s 2.2 million residents are homeless.
Aid flows are expected to improve under Trump’s plan. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher stressed the need to “provide shelter and fuel to people who desperately need it and to massively increase food, medicine and other supplies”.
The war has also reshaped the Middle East, sparking clashes between Israel and Iran, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.
Trump also floated the idea of a peace deal between arch-enemies Iran and Israel, telling the Knesset: “I think Iran wants it. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Joy, relief on both sides
Beaming with relief, two freed hostages waved to the cheering crowd from their van en route to an Israeli hospital – one holding a large Israeli flag, the other forming a heart with his hands.
Video footage showed emotional scenes of families receiving phone calls from their loved ones as they were released, their faces lighting up in disbelief after months of anguish.
“I’m so excited. I’m full of happiness. It’s hard to imagine how I feel right now. I haven’t slept all night,” said Viki Cohen, the mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, as she traveled to Reim, an Israeli military base where the hostages were transferred.
Most of the freed Palestinians were detained during the war, but 250 were serving sentences or awaiting trial for deadly attacks or security breaches.
Thousands of people gathered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, waving Palestinian flags and holding photos of their loved ones.
“I am happy for our sons who are freed, but we still suffer for all those who were killed and for all the destruction in Gaza,” said one woman, identifying herself as Um Ahmed.
Likely pitfalls
Washington negotiated the deal alongside Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. The next phase will be to establish an international “Peace Council” led by Trump.
Lots of things could still go wrong. Key questions remain unanswered, including who will govern Gaza once the fighting ends and the future role of Hamas.
Hamas gunmen carried out a crackdown in Gaza City after Israel’s withdrawal, killing 32 members of a rival group, a Palestinian security source said.
Entering the Knesset, Trump said Hamas had agreed to disarm as part of its plan, although the group had previously rejected that proposal without a Palestinian state.
Trump envoys met with Hamas negotiators in Sharm el-Sheikh before the ceasefire was finalized, a senior Palestinian official said.
Other challenges include Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the transition to an adjacent Palestinian state – an outcome that many Israelis oppose.
The bodies of 26 confirmed dead hostages, as well as two others whose fate was unknown, will also be returned on Monday. A committee has been formed to find remains believed to be buried in the rubble of Gaza.
