All 20 remaining living Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas after more than two years in captivity in Gaza. Hostages were handed over to the Red Cross before finally rejoining their families. And four deceased hostages were returned to Israel on Monday. Another 24 are supposed to be turned over as part of the first phase of the ceasefire,
TEL AVIV OCTOBER 13: Hostages were handed over to the Red Cross before finally rejoining their families with the help of the Israeli army. Hamas had allowed some of the hostages to make video calls home on Monday morning before their release.
Emotional footage was shared by Israeli broadcasters to an estimated 65,000 people gathered in front of large screens in ‘hostages square’ in Tel Aviv and to millions more watching the coverage at home. Hundreds were there from the early hours of Monday and tens of thousands more joined them as the morning went on where they watched live footage of events from large screens on two sides of the square.
For Israelis, the release of the 20 remaining living hostages brought elation and a sense of closure to a war many felt they were forced into by Hamas, although many pledged to fight on for the return of deceased hostages still in Gaza.
Four deceased hostages were returned to Israel on Monday, and another 24 are supposed to be turned over as part of the first phase of the ceasefire, which also requires Israel to allow a surge of food and other humanitarian aid into Gaza.
