Hamas is scheduled to release the remaining 20 living hostages held in Gaza by noon local time today, marking the culmination of the first phase of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal under President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan. The agreement, finalised after negotiations in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh, exchanges these captives—abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack—for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel, including 250 convicted individuals and 1,700 arrested since the conflict's onset. The deal also includes the handover of 28 deceased hostages' bodies, though Hamas has indicated challenges in locating all remains amid Gaza's rubble. This follows two prior truces: a November 2023 pause releasing 105 Israelis and a January 2025 exchange freeing 33 more, amid a war that has claimed over 67,000 Palestinian lives and 1,200 Israeli lives.
The impending releases have sparked cautious optimism across Israel, with families gathering at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv and preparations underway at Re'im military base for medical evaluations. Red Cross vehicles positioned in Khan Younis will transport the hostages, all men aged 20-35, without Hamas-staged ceremonies to avoid past controversies. U.S. Vice President JD Vance confirmed the 20 living captives' status, emphasising monitoring to ensure the ceasefire's durability, including Israeli troop withdrawals to agreed lines and restrictions on Hamas activities. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hailed the progress, though questions persist over full demilitarisation and reconstruction timelines.
Most of those freed were seized from the Nova Music Festival near Kibbutz Re'im, a site of profound tragedy where militants killed 364 attendees. Evyatar David, 24, a festivalgoer, appeared emaciated in an August 2025 Hamas video, digging what he described as his own grave in a tunnel, fuelling outrage and family pleas. Pianist Alon Ohel, 24, endured over 700 days in captivity, his family advocating tirelessly through global campaigns. Avinatan Or, 32, was captured alongside his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, whose desperate pleas in a viral abduction video—reaching for him as they were separated—symbolised the attack's brutality; Argamani was rescued in June 2025. Security guard Rom Levy, 20, was attempting to aid the injured when seized, while brothers Eitan Mor, 22, and Omri Miran, 21, were taken from the festival chaos, their families enduring prolonged uncertainty.
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Seven hostages hail from border kibbutzim, underscoring the attack's invasion of rural communities. Twins Gali and Ziv Berman, 28, were abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza with neighbour Emily Damari, who was released in January 2025 after 40 days with Ziv; the brothers' separation from her highlighted the militants' tactics. Ariel Cunio, 28, and his brother David Cunio, 35, were taken from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz alongside David's wife Sharon Alony-Cunio and their two young daughters, Emma, 2, and Ariel, 4; the women were freed in November 2023, but the brothers remained, amplifying the family's partial relief amid ongoing anguish.
Two Israeli Defence Forces conscripts round out the group: Matan Angrest, 22, and Nimrod Cohen, 20, captured during fierce October 2023 border clashes. Their detentions, alongside foreign nationals like Thai worker Bipin Joshi, whose family awaits updates, reflect the attack's broad targeting. As Trump arrives in Israel to address the Knesset and join a signing ceremony in Egypt, the releases—facilitated by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey—offer a fragile hope for enduring peace, though analysts caution that Phase Two negotiations on governance and aid could test the accord's viability.
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