After 738 harrowing days in captivity, all 20 remaining living Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were released and returned to Israel on Monday morning. The first group of seven hostages was transferred to the International Committee of the Red Cross around 8:40 a.m. and then escorted to the Israeli border, where they were received by IDF and Shin Bet officers. They were taken to a forward base near Kibbutz Re’im for medical evaluations before reuniting with their families. Those released in the first group included Eitan Mor, Alon Ahel, Ziv and Gali Berman, Guy Galboa-Dalal, Omri Miran, and Matan Angerst.

Roughly two hours later, the Red Cross facilitated the release of the final 13 captives, who were handed over to Israeli authorities. The second group included young men ranging in age from 21 to 38, among them Bar Kupershtein, Evyatar David, Yosef Chaim Ohana, and Ariel Cunio. The emotional reunions brought moments of relief and gratitude across Israel as families embraced loved ones after two years of uncertainty. “Our Eitan returned to us thanks to the commanders and soldiers of the IDF… our heroes who went out to destroy the enemy with self-sacrifice,” said the parents of Eitan Mor. Meanwhile, Hamas claimed it has now returned all living hostages and pledged to later hand over the bodies of those who died in captivity. Two men, Bipin Joshi and Tamir Nimrodi, remain unaccounted for, with their exclusion from Hamas’s list suggesting they did not survive.

SOURCE: World Israel News