THE last surviving Israeli hostages seized by Hamas have today tasted freedom for the first time in two years.
A group of seven Israelis were released this morning by the Islamist terror group as part of a peace deal to end the invasion of Gaza following the massacres by Hamas of more than 1,200 Jews on October 7, 2023.
The last group of 13 survivors were returned later this morning in exchange for the release of about 1,900 Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli jails. Hamas must also return the bodies of 28 hostages murdered while in captivity.
The exchange is a major step towards securing a lasting peace agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump who flew to Israel to address the Knesset today before travelling to Egypt for an international peace summit.
The president declared to reporters aboard Air Force On that ‘the war is over’.
He said: ‘People are tired of it . . . the ceasefire will hold, we’re going to make sure it holds.’
In a book at the Knesset, President Trump wrote: ‘This is a great honour – a great and beautiful day. A new beginning.’
The hostages were held for a total of 738 days after they were kidnapped during a night of slaughter which triggered a devastating two-year war in which tens of thousands of Palestinians were also killed.
The first seven hostages taken to the Red Cross were named as Matan Angrest, 22, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, 28, Alon Ohel, 24, Eitan Mor, 25, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, and Omri Miran, 48.
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