Hamas releases the last surviving hostages in exchange for 2,000 Palestinian prisoners

Special envoy to JerusalemDonald Trump has done it. The ceasefire agreement he unexpectedly forced was finalized this Monday with the release of the 20 Israeli hostages who had been held captive since the October 7, 2023, attack, in exchange for the release of 1,968 Palestinian prisoners. Trump has forced Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to halt the war that has devastated the Gaza Strip over the past two years. Israeli troops have withdrawn from 47% of the territory, and aid has begun to flow in to alleviate the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. The US president arrived in Israel for a brief visit and to reap the rewards of the operation: he was the hero of the day.

Outside Netanyahu's house in Jerusalem, the tent for the families of the Israeli hostages, their friends, and supporters filled up early in the morning with hundreds of people watching the release on a giant screen. They've been mobilizing under the slogan "Come Home" for two years, and today is the day. Kate Fredy, wrapped in an American flag, summed up the moment for AHORA: "It's taken a long time to get here: a lot of sadness, a lot of hopelessness, a lot of fear, and a feeling that the world has abandoned us, and now it's as if our own children are coming home. They're our children. Now we must let them heal, and wait in their care. After two years, today we begin to breathe."

Fredy moved to Israel from Los Angeles eight years ago with her family, after having traveled frequently to the country since she was a teenager. One of her sons is a soldier who has fought in Gaza for months: "We have the most monstrous enemies. And no one said, in World War II, 'Don't kill all the Nazis, give them a chance.' We can't give these enemies who want to destroy us a chance. There's no place in the world for them." They must leave.

Meanwhile, the giant screen showed the liberations live. One of the most celebrated moments was the photograph of the twins Gali and Ziv Berman, dressed, as they had requested, in the jerseys of Maccabi Tel Aviv. The helicopter taking them to the hospital flew over Bloomfield Stadium, where banners had been set up so they could be seen from the air. When journalists announced that all the living hostages were in Israeli hands, the tent erupted in applause and tears. Unlike the last ceasefire, Hamas has not displayed the hostages in show-of-force ceremonies, as had been agreed upon this time.

"I want to go on vacation to Trump Plaza Gaza. Let them do what they want," Fredy recalls, referring to Trump's plan to turn the Strip into a Mediterranean Riviera, although he admits there's still a long way to go. "Let them do what's good for the Gazans, and help the Israelis heal. But we need a lot of help. We have to unlearn many things before we can live together. I hope we're on that path."

Among the crowd, a 21-year-old soldier dressed in uniform, his rifle slung over his shoulder, contemplated the scene and smiled with joy. Although he is a student of the Torah (many like him refuse to go to war because they deeply believe they are more useful defending the country with the Bible), he has fought in Gaza for three months and admits that what he has seen is a "disaster." "What we did in Gaza isn't right, but we had no choice. What's happening there isn't normal, nor is what we did, even if it was a good goal: sometimes things don't go as you'd like. But it's yielded results, and I'm happy to have them all [the hostages] home." He also defends the Israeli army's continued presence in Gaza and says he's ready to return: "I trust our commanders, and they tell us we must remain in Gaza."

Palestinian prisoners

With much less media coverage, the Palestinian prisoners have been released alongside the Israeli hostages. They include 1,718 civilians from the Gaza Strip who were detained by Israeli troops and have no connection to the October 7 attacks, and 250 sentenced to life or long terms for violent crimes. Among them, a total of 63 are Hamas members; the rest belong to other Palestinian factions or have no affiliation. Among those released is Marwan Barghouti, the most popular Palestinian prisoner and the only one who could reunite the Palestinians and negotiate a two-state solution with Israel. Neither is Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, head of neonatology at Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was detained after Israeli troops stormed the medical center last winter and for whom Amnesty International and other human rights organizations had called for his release.

At the last minute, Israel changed the agreed terms and increased the number of Palestinian prisoners sent into exile in Egypt, finally reaching 154. The 88 who arrived in Ramallah, the main city in the West Bank, received a brief reception, as Israel had prohibited the exchange of the ceasefire agreement last January. The Israeli army fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the hundreds of Palestinians who had gathered outside Ofer prison in the West Bank to receive the prisoners, according to images shown by Al Jazeera and the Associated Press.

The forced exile of the freed Palestinians, announced at the last minute, has sparked outrage. Muhammad Imran's family had gone to Ramallah early in the morning to receive him after the Israeli authorities called them to confirm his release. He had been arrested in December 2022, before the October attacks, and sentenced to 13 life terms. His sister Ibtisam explained to Al Jazeera: "I received a call from an Israeli intelligence officer confirming that my brother would be released in Ramallah. He told us not to hold any gatherings or celebrations. At night, a platoon of soldiers raided the soldiers' house. It was a clash, we couldn't see him. But what matters is that he's free, whether here or outside." The homes of other Palestinian prisoners were also raided tonight.

Late Monday night, Hamas had handed over the bodies of four of the 28 deceased hostages still being held by the jihadist militia to the Red Cross.