Once the guns fell silent, Palestinians celebrated in the streets of Gaza while Israelis streamed into Tel Aviv’s “Hostages Square” to await their return.
Only prisoners from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and not Gaza, were scheduled for release. Israeli officials said they increased security presence in the West Bank to prevent riots or celebrations following the prisoners’ release.
Khowla al-Kawasmi, 53, drove more than two hours from the West Bank city of Hebron to wait for her daughter Ayat Mahfouz, 33, to be released. Ayat was arrested July 14 for allegedly trying to stab a soldier in Hebron’s Old City, a charge her mother denied. When Ayat was young, Kawasmi said, she lost an eye when Israeli forces fired a teargas canister at her.
“We are happy. We didn’t expect her to be released,” Kawasmi said. But, she added, “our happiness is mixed with bitterness” because of the war. “Neither your enemy nor your friend would like to see this bloodshed.”
Standing in the crowd at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, Gil Dickman, an Israeli whose cousin, Carmel Gat, was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, also described a day of “mixed emotions.” According to an Israeli military assessment, Gat was among six hostages who were killed in late August by their captors after ceasefire talks broke down.
At a meeting with Netanyahu earlier this month with other hostage families, the prime minister told Dickman that the deal that was finalized last week was the same one that was championed by the Biden administration and offered to Israel and Hamas earlier this month. Dickman questioned why the deal couldn’t be done earlier.
“We feel enormous pain that Carmel is not here, that the opportunity was missed to bring her and the five others back,” he said.
“But we are crying tears of joy just seeing the faces of Emily, Romy, and Doron, just knowing they are with their mothers,” he added. “And yet, also, there are so many other families who have hostages in Gaza, who live this fear that what happened to Carmel could happen to them, too.”
Rubin reported from Tel Aviv and Berger from Beitunia in the occupied West Bank. Sufian Taha in Beitunia, Mohamad El Chamaa in Beirut, Hajar Harb in London and Hazem Balousha in Toronto contributed to this report.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Hamas gunmen opened the doors of a white minivan, flashed a thumbs up and shuffled the Israeli hostages into the waiting Red Cross vehicles, sparking feverish celebrations in the square, footage showed. The hostages were driven back toward the Gaza border, where they were received by Israeli security forces shortly after sundown.
By 6 p.m., hundreds of Israelis had gathered in Hostages Square to watch newscasts shown on giant television screens. The crowd cheered, clapped, cried and hugged one another when each incremental update was reported: as the women were handed back to the Israel Defense Forces, as they were reunited with their families, as they were determined to be in a “good state” after a preliminary medical check. Some sang in unison: “Time has come to return home.”
Beyond the preliminary medical assessment, little was known Sunday night about the status of the three women, or the injuries or traumas they bore. A screenshot of Damari on a FaceTime call with her family, which was released by the IDF, showed her in a green sweatshirt, smiling next to her mother, raising a hand with only three fingers because of injuries she sustained during her abduction.
“After 471 days Emily is finally home,” said Mandy, Emily’s mother, in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families’ Forum, which represents most of the hostage families. “While Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over, for too many other families the impossible wait continues.”
On X, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heralded their return.
“Romi, Doron, and Emily — an entire nation embraces you; welcome home,” he wrote on X. “This moment was achieved thanks to the sacrifice and bravery of our heroic fighters — Israel’s heroes. I promise: we will bring everyone home.”
Even though the ceasefire appeared to begin without major hiccups, Netanyahu and the incoming Trump administration have emphasized in recent days that the reprieve in fighting was only temporary as they began to lay out conditions for resuming the war.
Since the ceasefire deal was announced last Wednesday, Netanyahu has come under immense pressure from his far-right coalition partners who complained that the truce was leaving Hamas and its fighters entrenched in Gaza, and the Israeli leader has hinted that he could return to the Palestinian territory to finish the job.
In an address late Saturday, the eve of the ceasefire, Netanyahu said the aims of what he called Israel’s “War of Resurrection” in Gaza remained unchanged: to bring back all of the hostages, to eliminate Hamas’ military and governance capabilities and to ensure that threats to Israel would no longer emanate from Gaza.
“Both President Trump and President Biden gave full backing to Israel’s right to resume fighting if Israel concludes that the negotiations for the second phase are futile; I deeply appreciate this support,” Netanyahu told his nation. “I also appreciate President Trump’s decision to lift all remaining restrictions on the supply of critical weapons and munitions to Israel. If we need to return to fighting, we will do so in new ways and with immense force.”
Even though Gaza has been devastated — with much of the enclave leveled by bombing and nearly 47,000 people killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants — Israeli hard-liners have urged Netanyahu to unleash greater punishment on Hamas and Gaza.
On Saturday, Netanyahu’s former Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who quit the government to protest the ceasefire but promised to return to the fold if fighting were to resume, urged the prime minister to recover the remaining hostages “through the use of force, cutting fuel supplies, and halting humanitarian aid — not through surrender.”
In Washington, incoming national security adviser Michael Waltz also reiterated that the Trump team had assured the Israeli government that “if Hamas doesn’t abide by this deal in any way, we will be with them.” In a media blitz across several Sunday morning talk shows, Waltz credited President-elect Donald Trump as playing a decisive role in reviving the long-stalled ceasefire negotiations — something that has been acknowledged by Israelis across the political spectrum and even Hamas leaders.
“I think what you’re seeing is a level of trust and confidence in this incoming Trump administration that wasn’t there before, frankly, from the Israelis,” Waltz said on CNN’s “State of the Union. “That’s why Bibi Netanyahu felt comfortable pushing this through his government, as tough as it has been.”
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| Hamas released 3 Israeli hostages 20-01-2025 |
Only prisoners from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and not Gaza, were scheduled for release. Israeli officials said they increased security presence in the West Bank to prevent riots or celebrations following the prisoners’ release.
Khowla al-Kawasmi, 53, drove more than two hours from the West Bank city of Hebron to wait for her daughter Ayat Mahfouz, 33, to be released. Ayat was arrested July 14 for allegedly trying to stab a soldier in Hebron’s Old City, a charge her mother denied. When Ayat was young, Kawasmi said, she lost an eye when Israeli forces fired a teargas canister at her.
“We are happy. We didn’t expect her to be released,” Kawasmi said. But, she added, “our happiness is mixed with bitterness” because of the war. “Neither your enemy nor your friend would like to see this bloodshed.”
Standing in the crowd at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, Gil Dickman, an Israeli whose cousin, Carmel Gat, was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, also described a day of “mixed emotions.” According to an Israeli military assessment, Gat was among six hostages who were killed in late August by their captors after ceasefire talks broke down.
At a meeting with Netanyahu earlier this month with other hostage families, the prime minister told Dickman that the deal that was finalized last week was the same one that was championed by the Biden administration and offered to Israel and Hamas earlier this month. Dickman questioned why the deal couldn’t be done earlier.
“We feel enormous pain that Carmel is not here, that the opportunity was missed to bring her and the five others back,” he said.
“But we are crying tears of joy just seeing the faces of Emily, Romy, and Doron, just knowing they are with their mothers,” he added. “And yet, also, there are so many other families who have hostages in Gaza, who live this fear that what happened to Carmel could happen to them, too.”
Rubin reported from Tel Aviv and Berger from Beitunia in the occupied West Bank. Sufian Taha in Beitunia, Mohamad El Chamaa in Beirut, Hajar Harb in London and Hazem Balousha in Toronto contributed to this report.
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