By Owen Evans
Contributing Writer
Israelis celebrated throughout the country on Monday as the final 20 living hostages were returned to the country after 738 days in captivity.
The release of hostages on Monday marked the end of one of the most painful chapters in the nation’s history, following the mass abductions during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
Hamas handed over all 20 surviving hostages to Israel on Monday.
An international task force will work to locate deceased hostages who are not returned within 72 hours, said Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the hostages and the missing.
“The war is over,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he began his flight from Washington to Israel.
When asked about prospects for the region, he said, “I think it’s going to normalize.”
The White House’s X account said there was a “powerful moment in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square” as cheers erupted when it was announced that hostages had been safely returned to Israeli forces.
A video posted on X by Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Ziv Nevo Kulman showed crowds singing “Habaita,” a 1982 Israeli song that has recently become a powerful anthem for the “Bring Them Home” movement, which called for the release of hostages
The Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X, “It’s official: There are no more living Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity.”
The official X account of the state of Israel said that one hostage, called Alon, 24, was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, from a bomb shelter at the Nova music festival.
“Alon suffered serious injuries, including the loss of vision in one eye. His second eye is also at risk. Released hostages confirmed Alon was held under brutal conditions, chained in tunnels and deprived of decent medical treatment,” it said.
A large crowd also gathered for daily morning prayer at the site of the Nova Festival, where Hamas launched a surprise attack and massacred unarmed Israeli civilians two years ago to the day.
A massive sign thanking Trump on the beaches of Tel Aviv greeted Air Force One upon its arrival.
Some Israelis also wore “Make America Great Again” hats.
“I am so excited. I am full of happiness. It’s hard to imagine how I feel this moment. I didn’t sleep all night,” Viki Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, told Reuters as she traveled to Reim, an Israeli military camp where the hostages were being transferred.
Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said on Monday that 1,700 Palestinians detained since Oct. 7, 2023, along with 22 minors and the bodies of 360 militants, would be released only after Israeli hostages were safely returned.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
