They’re free.
All living hostages in Gaza were released by Hamas Monday — with all 20 reportedly walking to Red Cross trucks under their own power following a historic cease-fire deal introduced by President Trump.
The first seven hostages returned to Israel around 2:30 a.m. ET Monday after being transported out of the Palestinian territory by Red Cross trucks. The remaining 13 hostages were released by Hamas hours later.
Released Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal waves to well-wishers upon arriving at Beilinson Hospital in the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva in central Israel on October 13, 2025. AFP via Getty Images
Gali and Ziv Berman are reunited for the first time in over two years. IDF Spokeperson UnitEmotional scenes emerged as the hostages spoke to family members for the first time after 738 days in Hamas hell.
Twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, who were kept apart for two years, embraced as they were finally reunited.
Mothers and fathers sobbed as they saw their sons for the first time in video calls. In-person reunions were expected later on Monday.
The bodies of 28 other hostages are still in the Palestinian enclave and are expected to be released over the next several days.
Israeli hostage Omri Miran (right) is embraced by his father. Israeli Army/AFP via Getty Images
Omri Miran is crying while embracing his wife. Israeli Army/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli hostage Omri Miran is reunited with his wife, Lishay Miran-Lav, and father, Dani Miran. via REUTERSThe survivors’ two-year nightmare is finally ending following Israel’s devastating war, which was meant to crush Hamas and free the captives.
More than 250 hostages were originally taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks on southern Israel.
The captives endured horrific conditions, according to survivors who were released as part of previous deals or rescued by the Israel Defense Forces. They reported being tortured, raped, and starved.
Returned hostage Eitan Mor was finally reunited with his parents. IDF Spokesperson Unit
A freed Palestinian is hugged by a relative after he was released from an Israeli jail as part of a hostage-prisoner swap and a cease-fire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel. REUTERS
Released Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker is reunited with his mother, Einav Zangauker, after being held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the families of deceased and returning hostages, wounded IDF soldiers, those who were injured in terrorist attacks on October 7, and bereaved families. Ma'ayan Toaf, GPOOne hostage, Evyatar David, was forced to dig his own grave as part of a sick Hamas propaganda video released in August, which showed him extremely gaunt.
In September 2024, Hamas executed six hostages with point-blank shots after Israeli troops got too close to their hiding place.
Stay up to date on the Israel-Hamas cease-fire exchange
- Emotions run high as freed Gaza hostages reunite with their families after two long years
- Israel starts releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners — including murderers and terrorists
- NY pols celebrate Israeli hostages’ return: ‘A new chapter of lasting peace’
- President Trump declares an ‘end of an age of terror and death’ to raucous applause in Israel’s parliament
The war also devastated Gaza, with huge swaths of the enclave destroyed by Israeli strikes. More than 67,000 Palestinians were killed, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
People gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square ahead of the release of the last living Israeli hostages by Hamas on Oct. 11, 2025. Best Image / BACKGRID
A clock in Hostages Square shows how long the hostages have been kept by Hamas since the Oct. 7 terror attacks. Getty ImagesThat figure does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.
The release of the hostages marks a major turning point in the Gaza war — and a step toward ending it once and for all, per Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
After Israel agreed to the cease-fire deal, it withdrew its troops from much of Gaza and stopped attacking Hamas.
Evyatar David is one of the hostages presumed to be alive and expected to be released by Hamas. via REUTERS
David was forced to dig his own grave in a Hamas propaganda video released in August. Al-Qassam Brigade Footage
Demonstrators march in a “Bring Them Home” rally for the Israeli hostages in New York City on Oct. 12, 2025. Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty ImagesWhat comes next is a complex deal, in which Trump and Israel’s Middle Eastern neighbors will work to force Hamas to disarm and give up power.
Along with the living captives, Hamas was ordered to hand over the bodies of all the dead hostages whose whereabouts it knows, with an international effort set to begin to locate the remains of those missing.
It remains unclear how many bodies Hamas and its extremist allies have lost in the war, which saw large swaths of Gaza reduced to rubble and the terror network’s tunnel system repeatedly blown up.
Avinatan Or is one of the living hostages released by Hamas.
Or’s girlfriend, Noa Argamani (left), was abducted and rescued from captivity in June 2024. Facebook
People were seized by members of the Hamas militant group during an incursion into Israel on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. AP
Argamani was seen being kidnapped on the back of a motorcycle by Hamas.
The remaining 20 living hostages in Gaza (L-R): Avinatan Or, Matan Zanguaker, Alon Ohel, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Eitan Mor,Omri Miran, Bar Kuperstein, Segev Kalfon, Eitan Horn, Maxim Herkin, Guy, Gilboa-Dala,Evyatar, David, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Nimrod Cohen,, Rom Braslavski,Elkana Bohbot, Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman.
The surviving hostages — confirmed by both Israel and Hamas — expected to be released are:
- Matan Angrest, 22
- Ziv Berman, 28
- Gali Berman, 28
- Elkana Bohboot, 36
- Rom Braslavski, 21
- Nimrod Cohen, 20
- Ariel Cunio, 28
- David Cunio, 35
- Evyatar David, 24
- Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24
- Maxim Herkin, 37
- Eitan Horn, 38
- Segev Kalfon, 27
- Bar Kupershtein, 23
- Omri Miran, 48
- Eitan Abraham Mor, 25
- Yosef-Chaim Ohana, 25
- Alon Ohel, 24
- Avinatan Or, 32
- Matan Zangauker, 25
The 26 who are presumed dead include:
- Inbar Hayman, 27
- Tamir Adar, 38
- Mohammad Alatrash, 39
- Sahar Baruch, 24
- Uriel Baruch, 35
- Amiram Cooper, 85
- Itay Chen, 19, an Israeli-American
- Oz Daniel, 19
- Ronen Engel, 54
- Ran Gvili, 24
- Manny Godard, 73
- Tal Haimi, 41
- Asaf Hamami, 40
- Guy Illouz, 26
- Eitan Levi, 53
- Eliyahu Margalit, 75
- Joshua Mollel, 21
- Omer Neutra, 21, of New York
- Sonthaya Oakkharasri
- Dror Or, 48
- Daniel Perez, 22
- Sudthisak Rinthalak
- Lior Rudaeff, 61
- Yossi Sharabi, 53
- Arye Zalmanovich, 85
- Hadar Goldin, 25
The conditions of two others, Bipin Joshi, 24, and Tamir Nimrodi, 20, were unknown to the public before the hostage exchange.
Like with the previous hostage exchanges, the Red Cross was scheduled to drop the hostages off with the Israeli military, which will proceed to transport the captives to medical facilities to be treated.
A truck carrying aid entered Gaza through the border in Rafah, Egypt, on Oct. 12, 2025. Getty Images
Displaced Palestinians return to the northern part of Gaza on Oct. 12, 2025. REUTERS
Palestinians filling water containers at an aid truck in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 12, 2025. REUTERSOnce all the hostages have crossed the border, the IDF will begin the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including about 250 who are serving life sentences.
The hostage exchange marks a major point in Trump’s cease-fire deal, with its completion allowing humanitarian aid to flood into the war-torn Gaza Strip.
The exchange also comes just a day before Trump was set to arrive in Israel to mark the end of the Gaza war and to welcome the captives back, including the slain Chen and Neutra, both of whom were Americans.
