Prisoners released

Remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip released

Pictures show the buses full of prisoners being taken to Ramallah.(Bild: AP/Mahmoud Illean)

All 20 remaining hostages who were held in the Gaza Strip for more than two years have now been released. There is jubilation in Israel, and US President Donald Trump has also arrived for a visit and spoke of the "end of the war" in front of the Knesset. But now the second part of the deal is underway ...

After 738 days, all the hostages are free again and Israel is rejoicing. But in return for handing over the hostages, the country had to release around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Among them are up to 250 who were sentenced to life imprisonment. In the meantime, numerous imprisoned Palestinians have already arrived in Ramallah, a city in the West Bank, where they have been welcomed by their families.

Terrorists among the prisoners
Among the 250 prisoners who have been released is Iyad Abu al-Rub, a commander of Islamic Jihad, who was convicted of organizing suicide attacks in Israel in the early 2000s in which 13 people died. Israel has already paid high prices in the past to secure the release of hostages. One example of this is the case of Gilad Shalit: Israel had to release over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners to free him in 2011. One of these released criminals was the later head of Hamas and planner of October 7, Yahya Sinwar.

These 20 hostages returned to their families today.(Bild: X/@TaraBull808)

Touching reunion of the hostages with relatives
After the release of the first hostages, there was unbridled jubilation in Israel. "We are all incredibly moved," says Danielle Aloni, who was herself a Hamas hostage. She is the sister-in-law of David Cunio, one of the 20 hostages still alive. The seven hostages released that morning were taken from the Gaza Strip by the Red Cross, escorted by Israeli special forces, and brought to a facility near the border. There they underwent an initial physical and mental examination and met their families. Pictures show the touching reunion of those released with their relatives.

Eitan Mor is embraced by his parents.(Bild: AP/Israeli Defense Forces)

Matan Zangauker is embraced by his mother.(Bild: AP/Israeli Defense Forces)

Guy Gilboa-Dalal is reunited with his family.(Bild: IDF)

Concerns about health and psychological consequences
The joy is great, but not unclouded. Medical experts warned, for example, that the hostages, who had suffered from hunger for a very long time, could be overfed. There was a risk of so-called "refeeding syndrome", in which the body could be overloaded by too much food in a short space of time. The massive psychological consequences for those released should not be underestimated either.

Only the mortal remains of four hostages are handed over
The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas was also supposed to hand over all 28 dead hostages on Monday - and thus within the 72-hour deadline agreed as part of the ceasefire. According to the hostage families, they have now learned that Hamas only wants to hand over four of the 28 dead hostages. The relatives are shocked and are calling on the Israeli government to act. According to official information, only two bodies have been handed over to the Red Cross.

Trump greets Netanyahu at the airport.(Bild: AP/Evan Vucci)

Trump speech in the Israeli parliament
Donald Trump had also landed in Israel in the morning. The US President met with hostage relatives and gave a speech to the Knesset in Jerusalem in which he spoke of an "incredible triumph for Israel and the world" and the "end of war, terror and death". Netanyahu, on the other hand, had previously said that the battle was not yet over. "There are still great security challenges ahead of us." Some enemies were trying to recover in order to attack again, the Israeli head of government had said. In his speech to the Israeli parliament, however, he already declared Trump to be the "greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House".

Trump interrupted by member of parliament
The US President's speech was briefly interrupted. The "disruptor" was Ayman Odeh, a member of parliament. He wrote on his X account: "The level of hypocrisy in the House is intolerable." He called for the crimes against humanity committed in Gaza to be recognized and for responsibility to be taken for them. Odeh was then forced to leave the Knesset.

Netanyahu will not travel to Egypt
After his visit to Israel, Trump traveled on to the Egyptian coastal town of Sharm el Sheikh for a "Middle East peace ceremony" to mark the agreement he brokered. More than 20 heads of state and government are meeting there. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will not be attending the international summit after all, as originally planned. According to reports, there were protests from other countries who would probably not have traveled if Netanyahu had attended the peace ceremony. The official line is that he cannot attend due to time pressure ahead of the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah).