Israelis erupt in joy as last living hostages released after 738 days in Gaza

Israelis celebrated throughout the country on Monday as the final 20 living hostages were returned to Israel after 738 days of captivity in the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands of Israeli flooded Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square — two years to the day since the October 7 attack according to the Hebrew calendar — to watch a live feed of the hostages’ release.

In the square, which has been the site of hundreds of protests and rallies calling for the hostages’ release over the past two years of war, revelers popped champagne bottles, cheered and hugged one another.

Some waved Israeli and American flags, some held signs thanking US President Donald Trump for his efforts to secure the hostages’ release, and others stood silently, taking in the moment.

In living rooms around the country, the families of the captives tearfully watched the scenes and embraced each other in relief and joy as their loved ones appeared on screen and were returned to Israel.

Others lined the roads outside the Re’im base in southern Israel, where the released hostages arrived after being transferred by the Red Cross to Israeli forces in Gaza, cheering on the families that came to be reunited with their loved ones and waiting to welcome the freed hostages once they made their way to hospitals in central Israel.