All 20 living Israeli hostages freed in deal

Marc Schulman, writing at Tel Aviv Diary:

“I woke up an hour before my alarm, and decided to take Milo out for a walk through Hostage Square at 6:00 in the morning. What I saw was unlike anything I had witnessed there before. The square was full, completely packed, at that early hour. We couldn’t even cross the square. Hundreds of people had spent the night waiting, hoping, and praying that the day ahead would unfold as planned.

…

Overall, the released hostages appeared to be in better physical condition than many had feared. All were able to walk unassisted. It likely helped that nearly all of them were young men, healthy and strong. Many were soldiers at the time they were taken captive.

Watching these young men return filled the nation with a rare sense of pure joy. There is simply no other way to describe it. Everyone joined in the celebration, some openly, others in quiet relief. Unlike previous hostage returns, this time no living hostage was left behind. For the first time, we can say that no living hostages remain in the hands of Hamas.

“The recovery of the remains of the deceased hostages is still underway,” Schulman adds, “a painful process that will likely continue for some time.”

Amir Tibon, whose family spent hours locked in their safe room during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on their kibbutz, Kibbutz Nahal Oz, and were rescued by his father, writes at Haaretz:

October 13, 2025 was the best day in Israel since the catastrophe of October 7. Two years and six days after that day of horror and humiliation, Israelis can finally breathe, knowing that no living hostages are now held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and that there won’t be updates about dead soldiers in the coming hours. The longest war in Israel’s history is over, as is the hostage crisis that so many Israelis have carried on their shoulders the entire time.

On Trump, Tibon writes:

The Israeli public largely credits him –not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – with the achievement of bringing back the hostages. Trump is today the most popular person in Israel and enjoys great appreciation among both supporters and opponents of the current Israeli government. Everyone seems to agree on one thing: His personal involvement and insistence is what made the hostage deal possible after so many frustrating months of failed