Hostages and prisoners freed, as Trump hails ‘golden age’ in Mideast

REIM, Israel — Israelis and Palestinians cried, applauded and thanked Monday as Hamas militants freed their last 20 living hostages in exchange for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

It was the first phase of a ceasefire agreement put in place last month, even as President Trump – the driving force behind the agreement – ​​delivered what amounted to a victory speech to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, before leaving for a peace summit in Egypt.

Greeted with a standing ovation before speaking a word, Trump hailed the deal as the start of a “golden age” for Israel and the Middle East.

“After so many years of incessant war and endless dangers, today the skies are calm, the guns silent, the sirens silent and the sun rises over a Holy Land finally at peace,” he said.

Palestinians in Ramallah, in the West Bank, celebrate the release of prisoners by Israel on October 13, 2025.

(Issam HS Alasmar/Anadolu/Getty Images)

His words belie the many complications facing a deal that remains far from a comprehensive road map that could definitively end a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and pulverized much of the Gaza Strip, even as it scarred Israeli society with the deaths of 1,200 people and brought unprecedented international condemnation of the country’s leaders.

The night before the planned morning handover, tens of thousands of Israelis flocked to Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, as well as to the roadside near the Reim military base in southern Israel, where the hostages were to be taken after their release.

A celebratory atmosphere reigned on the road to Reim, as Sikorsky Super Stallion helicopters landed in a dusty field to the cheers of a nearby crowd, who waved Israeli and American flags and swayed to a song whose lyrics promised: “I’m coming home, tell the world I’m coming home.”

Passing cars honked their horns in greeting, and a passenger rolled down her window and shouted, “The kidnapped are coming back!” »

“Since Thursday, my smile is stuck, my jaw hurts, after two years of doing nothing at all,” said Sarit Kenny, 65, a resident of a nearby kibbutz, who said she has attended a rally every week since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, to call for the return of the hostages.

She showed off the American flag she was holding, saying she wanted it to be an expression of her appreciation for Trump.

Matan Zangauker finds her mother at the first reception point after her release by the militant group Hamas.

(Israel Defense Forces / Associated Press)

“He’s the one who actually did this. He did what our prime minister didn’t do,” she said.

Jonathan Kaneh, 46, owner of a polymer factory in Kibbutz Orim, saw the post as a darker moment. On October 7, Hamas militants in a truck shot him while he was riding his bicycle; The bullet grazed his arm but he was otherwise uninjured. At the same time, the war precipitated by the attack had forced him to close his business.

He had arrived at the scene early to mark the start of the attack two years ago, which began at 6:29 a.m.

“It was important for me to come here, to complete this circle. A lot of people saw their lives stopped in this place,” he said, his voice deep with emotion.

For many others, the day represented a moment combining religion and a sense of history, with the release of the hostages falling on the religious holiday of Simchat Torah, just as their kidnapping had occurred on Simchat Torah two years earlier.

“It’s my good fortune to be here now, and most people feel the same way, which is that we had to be here,” said Uzi Bar-On, 70, sitting in a lawn chair and brewing coffee on a portable stove, with Jimmy, his dog, by his side.

At a rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, people react in anticipation of the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

(Oded Balilty/Associated Press)

Bar-On said the past two years had seen him consumed by thoughts of revenge against Hamas and the people of Gaza, but that the release of the hostages could help Israelis move on.

“I want to see the hostages first. When I see them with my own eyes, and not through the press, then maybe I can start thinking differently,” he said.

As the convoy of vans and military vehicles carrying the first group passed, the crowd burst into thunderous cheers.

It appeared to coincide with when Air Force One was about to land at Ben Gurion International Airport, before Trump was taken to Jerusalem to meet hostage families ahead of his Knesset speech.

In addition to touting his administration’s accomplishments (and taking issue with former Presidents Obama and Biden), Trump has given his wholehearted support to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a deeply unpopular figure with many Israelis, who blame their leader for dragging the country into the war in the first place and accuse him of prolonging it for his own political goals.

But Trump insisted Netanyahu had done “a great job,” and delved into Israel’s internal affairs and urged the president to pardon Netanyahu for the corruption charges he faces. Trump also praised envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner for their efforts in brokering the deal, while mulling the idea of ​​Israel making peace with Iran.

He later traveled to Egypt for a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi and a group of Arab and Islamic leaders to discuss next steps for Gaza.

“We have a unique chance to leave old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us,” Trump said at the summit, during which Sisi awarded Trump Egypt’s highest civilian honor.

Netanyahu was not present, with his office saying the timing conflicted with the Jewish holiday.

President Trump addresses the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025.

(Evelyn Hockstein/Associated Press)

The deal negotiated by Trump stipulates that Hamas will release the bodies of 28 hostages who died in captivity, each of which will be returned in exchange for 15 bodies of Palestinians killed on October 7.

Four bodies were released on Monday. In recent days, Hamas has said it is having difficulty recovering bodies from the rubble of war-torn buildings in Gaza.

Hours after the release of the second batch of hostages, buses carrying around 1,700 Gazans detained in Israel without charges over the past two years left for the Palestinian enclave, along with 250 prisoners serving life sentences for convictions in attacks against Israelis.

Two buses filled with 88 people were released in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where families gathered at the Ramallah Cultural Palace – a venue normally reserved for performances – to greet loved ones, some they had not seen in decades.

When the buses arrived, Palestinian security forces attempted to maintain order but were quickly overwhelmed by the crowds. Prisoners and detainees emerged with shaved heads, looking gaunt and pale in the afternoon sun – a measure, many say, of the harsh treatment they suffered.

Despite their joy at the release, few agreed to be interviewed, saying Israeli authorities had warned them not to celebrate the release or speak to the media or risk being arrested again.

“When I saw all the people here, we forgot all our pain. But our brothers detained inside are still suffering,” said a released prisoner who had spent 20 years in an Israeli prison. One hand held a cigarette, while the other held a phone that he used to talk to his niece for the first time.

“I’m tired, but thank God for everything,” said Yahya Nimr Ahmad Ibrahim, a Fatah member arrested in 2003 and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Wrapped in a black and white Palestinian kaffiyeh, he looked frail as his family members carried him on their shoulders in celebration.

The list of Palestinian detainees to be released was a point of contention until the very last minute, according to Palestinian rights groups, who count at least 100 additional prisoners serving life sentences who would not be released.

The head of the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission, Raed Abu Al-Hummus, said the commission had received hundreds of phone calls from people furious that their loved ones were not being released.

Palestinians rejoice at their release from Israeli prisons.

(Ayman Nobani/DPA/Picture Alliance/AP Images)

For others, the prisoners’ release was bittersweet: 154 of the 250 prisoners were due to be exiled to Gaza, Egypt, Malaysia or Turkey, and with their family members subject to travel restrictions, it was unlikely they would see them again anytime soon.

Elsewhere in the crowd, bewilderment mixed with anger as families who had been informed that their loved ones were going to be released discovered that they were not on the buses after all.

“We don’t know what happened. The Israeli army called me last night, told me that my brother was coming here. They even came and destroyed our house so that we couldn’t celebrate. Then we learned that he was going to be exiled, but no one knows where he is,” said Raed Imran, the brother of Mohammad Imran, a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad who was serving 13 years. life sentences.

Next to him, his sister, Ibtisam, was crying.

“We made all his favorite foods, all of them,” she said, barely able to keep her voice steady from crying. “We’ve been working for two days for this moment. We even have the dishes in the car, ready for him when he gets out.”

Imran also started crying.

“We just don’t know. Nobody has told us anything,” he said.

As the afternoon sun faded, the crowd began to disperse, except for a few families asking anyone who seemed in authority to give them information about their missing loved ones. But very quickly, they too left.