After more than two years, the last remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were due to be released in the early hours of Monday morning.
Israelis have been celebrating in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square ever since US president Donald Trump announced the ceasefire. The excitement was palpable as crowds gathered on Sunday night, ahead of live TV coverage of developments from midnight.
Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in a televised address to the nation, said Monday would be a historic day, “the beginning of a new path, a path of building, of healing and I hope a path of uniting hearts”.
Hamas confirmed on Sunday that it had located all 20 living hostages following a partial military redeployment by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Hamas had not, however, located all 28 deceased hostages.
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The hostages will be released from three separate locations in Gaza and transferred to Red Cross representatives, who will take them to an IDF base within Gaza. Israel insisted during the ceasefire negotiations that the handover take place this time without Hamas-orchestrated ceremonies which were a feature of some previous releases.
Once they cross the border, the hostages will reunite with family members at the Re’im military base where they will also undergo an initial medical examination and mental health check.
They will then be flown by helicopter to three hospitals in central Israel. Anyone requiring emergency treatment will be flown to Beersheba’s Soroka hospital, which is closer.
The bodies of the deceased hostages will be placed in coffins and brought to a forensic institute for identification. An international taskforce will work on finding the remains of hostages not released on Monday, with some believed to be buried under rubble.
Adding to Monday’s drama will be the brief visit by US president Trump, who will arrive in the morning and address the Knesset before flying on to Egypt. US vice-president JD Vance on Sunday said Trump was also likely to meet newly freed hostages.
As he boarded Air Force One on Sunday evening, Trump said the “war is over” and “everybody’s cheering”.
“There are 500,000 people yesterday and today in Israel and also the Muslim and Arab countries all cheering … That’s never happened before,” he said.
[ Ceasefire has not ended uncertainty in Gaza with challenging times aheadOpens in new window ]
Once Israel confirms it has received all the hostages, it will begin freeing nearly 2,000 Palestinians termed “security prisoners” in exchange, including 250 serving life terms. Of the 250, 115 will return to their homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, while another 135 will go to Gaza or into exile abroad.
The humanitarian surge called for in the ceasefire is under way, with hundreds of aid lorries crossing into Gaza on Sunday via a number of crossings.
More than 67,000 Gaza residents were killed in the two-year war which began on October 7th, 2023 when Hamas-led gunmen stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnaping 250.
