JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Oct 13 — Hamas handed over the first group of the last surviving Israeli hostages seized in the October 7, 2023, attack on Monday, a key step in ending two years of devastating conflict in Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal pushed by United States President Donald Trump.
With hundreds of cheering people gathered in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, Israel's military said it had received the first seven of 20 surviving hostages after their transfer out of Gaza by the Red Cross.
"I am so excited. I am full of happiness. It is hard to imagine how I feel this moment. I did not sleep all night," said Viki Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, as she travelled to Reim, an Israeli military camp where the hostages will be transferred.
The remaining 13 confirmed living hostages, along with the bodies of 26 dead hostages and another two whose fate is unknown, are also expected to be released on Monday, along with nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners.
In Gaza, about a dozen masked and black-clad gunmen, apparently members of Hamas' armed wing, arrived at the Nasser Hospital, where a stage and chairs had been laid out to welcome returning Palestinian prisoners.
"I hope that these images can be the end to this war. We lost friends and relatives, we lost our houses and our city," said Emad Abu Joudat, 57, a Palestinian father of six from Gaza City, as he watched the handover preparations on his phone.
The releases are among the most critical parts of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, concluded last week in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where Trump and other world leaders will meet later on Monday.
Two years of war have left Gaza in ruins, with nearly all its people homeless, and caused a humanitarian disaster on a massive scale. It has also reshaped the Middle East through Israeli conflicts with Iran, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Yemen's Houthis.
Progress towards a lasting peace now hinges on global commitments that may be taken up by a summit later on Monday of more than 20 world leaders led by Trump in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort.
Two years of conflict
Near Israel's Reim camp, where the hostages will be taken to hospitals, people lined the road waving Israeli flags on which a yellow ribbon — the symbol of remembrance for the hostages — was interwoven with the blue Star of David.
An official involved in the operation said that some 1,966 detainees boarded buses at Israeli prisons, and most were expected to be released at Gaza's Nasser Hospital on Monday.
In a statement on Monday, Hamas affirmed its commitment to the terms and timeline of the deal, after Israel agreed to a ceasefire and swap deal after it failed to free the hostages through its military offensive.
The United Nations' aid agency UNRWA urged Israel to allow more aid into the territory.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults have devastated Gaza, killing over 67,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health officials.
