 "People holding up portraits of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and waving Israeli flags gather at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv early on October 13, 2025. Hamas is set to release all surviving hostages on October 13. AFP")
On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants attacked Israel and abducted 251 people and took them across the border into Israel. Since then, a few of them have been released while many others have perished as a result of the harsh conditions they were subjected to.
Now, in a few hours — after two years of captivity — the remaining hostages, 20 are believed to be alive while 28 bodies, will return to Israel as per US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan , which was earlier agreed upon.
US President Trump is on his way to Israel and will be present as the hostages are released home. The American leader will address the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and meet with the families of hostages, an Israeli official confirmed to The Times of Israel. There was a phone call between the Israeli and American teams on Friday, in which Trump’s team said it “would be an in and out” visit, said the official.
In the meantime, hundreds have gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square in anticipation of the release of the 48 hostages from Gaza later in the day.
As we await this momentous occasion in the Israel-Hamas war, here’s how it will all unfold and why it is so significant.
Israel launches Operation ‘Returning Home’
The Benjamin Netanyahu Cabinet signing off on the first phase of Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan on Friday has facilitated the release of the hostages being held by Hamas.
As per the agreed plan , Hamas will release all 20 of the living hostages as well as the bodies of those who died in captivity. A spokesperson for Israel’s PM’s office said that it expects all 20 living hostages to be released to the Red Cross “early Monday morning”.
In fact, on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the launch of Operation ‘Returning Home,’ aimed at bringing back hostages held by Hamas. In a post on X, the IDF stated, “The IDF is now launching Operation ‘Returning Home’ to return our hostages from Hamas captivity. In a few hours we will all be reunited, one people, embraced and united.”
Chief of Israel’s General Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, said the operation marks a significant achievement for Israel following sustained military and diplomatic efforts. “The military pressure we applied over the past two years, together with the complementary diplomatic measures, constitute a victory over Hamas,” Zamir said. He added that Israel would continue working to ensure the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to the state and its civilians.
And awaiting their release, hundreds have gathered at Israel’s Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, many of whom are carrying flags or posters with pictures of hostages. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum encouraged the public to gather at the square overnight, billing it as a “yellow night” — a play on the phrase “white night,” the Hebrew term for all-nighter. The forum plans to broadcast the hostages’ return to Israel on large screens set up in the square.
Hostages expected to return home
But who are the hostages expected to be released by Hamas by 8 am, local time?
Many of the hostages being released were abducted from the site of the Nova Music festival near Kibbutz Reim in southern Israel on October 7 in 2023. These include 24-year-old Evyatar David, pianist Alon Ohel, and 32-year-old Avintan Or.
There are also those who were abducted by Hamas from their homes in the kibbutz near the Gaza border. They include Gali and Ziv Berman, 28, and brothers Ariel Cunio, 28, and David Cunio, 35, who was abducted with his wife Sharon and toddler daughters. Sharon and the girls were released in a brief November 2023 truce.
Among those set to be released today (October 13) are two Israeli conscript soldiers — 22-year-old Matan Angrest, and 20-year-old Nimrod Cohen. There are also four foreigners. Three of them have been pronounced dead in absentia: a Tanzanian student and two Thai workers. The fate of Nepalese student Bipin Joshi is still unknown.
In addition to these hostages, the remains of the others who perished are also expected to be returned today. However, Hamas has said it will not be able to locate all the dead hostages within that deadline, and Israel is aware of this.
Additionally, a Hamas official was quoted as telling Al Jazeera that the hostages would be released from three different locations in the Gaza Strip. The official, who chose to remain unnamed, did not say when the release would take place, but noted that Hamas representatives will meet Sunday night with representatives of the Red Cross to agree on a mechanism for the hostages’ release. The official added that Hamas had finished counting the hostages and moving them to various sites across the Strip in preparation for their release.
Palestinian prisoners await release
After the hostages have been safely transferred into Israeli territory, the agreed-upon Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released by Israel.
Israel must free 250 Palestinian prisoners who hold life sentences, as well as 1,700 Palestinians from Gaza detained after October 7, 2023.
A spokesperson from Israel’s prison services said the inmates serving life sentences due to be released had been taken to deportation complexes in Ofer and Ketziot prisons in Israel’s south on Saturday.
According to Israel, 142 of those prisoners will be deported. The rest will return either to the occupied West Bank or East Jerusalem.
A long road to recovery for Hamas hostages
An IDF official has said that the hostage handover will follow the same procedure as the operation earlier this year. First, they will be transferred by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to a special IDF squad. They will then be taken to the Re’im military base in southern Israel from where they will then travel with family by helicopter to hospitals where they will receive further treatment.
Israeli hospitals have already begun their preparations for the hostages’ anticipated return. According to one news report, 10 of the hostages will be transferred to the Sheba Medical Centre at Tel Hashomer, another five to Ichilov and Beilinson in Petah Tikva will receive another five.
“The plan is to provide each of them with a ‘safe room’ — a completely closed area for the family alone and for the medical team with the hostage,” said Gal Hirsch, the coordinator for Hostages and Missing Persons. “There will be an orderly process of medical checks, assessment of their condition and entry into a rehabilitation program with all the experts.”
According to one Sky News report, at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, the hostages will be given a gift basket filled with thoughtful items such as a teddy, a blanket, slippers and a phone charger awaits them. The teddy is there to help bring comfort to the freed captives.
“Our research says each one of us has a child inside,” Director of Nursing Dr Michal Steinman told Sky News. “We need something to pet and feel soft, and reassure them after the lack of senses for such a long time.”
According to one clinical psychologist, the hostages could suffer from a range of psychological conditions, from survivor’s guilt to post-traumatic stress disorder that manifests in anxiety, depression, nightmares and flashbacks. Some of them will face a lifetime of treatment, he said.
Dr Michal Steinman also noted that the hostages may have to relearn how to eat after being starved. “We have to be extremely careful because we are wary of overfeeding,” she told The Telegraph. “In the past, some of them have so completely lost their appetite that we have had to work with them in order for them to feel hungry again.”
Trump in Israel
US President Donald Trump is on his way to Israel where he will meet with families of the hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. US Vice President JD Vance said Trump was likely to meet with newly freed hostages.
Earlier while boarding Air Force One to make his way to Israel, Trump declared the war “is over”. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One at the start of the “very special” visit, Trump brushed off concerns about whether the ceasefire would endure.
“I think it’s going to hold. I think people are tired of it. It’s been centuries,” he said of the fighting. “The war is over. Okay? You understand that?” the US president added.
Key US officials are travelling with him. These include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and top military officer Dan Caine.
News agency AFP has also that Israel President Isaac Herzog will present the country’s highest civilian award to his US counterpart Donald Trump for his role in securing the release of hostages from Gaza and helping to end the war.
“Through his tireless efforts, President Trump has not only helped bring our loved ones home but has also laid the foundations for a new era in the Middle East built on security, cooperation, and genuine hope for a peaceful future,” Herzog said in a statement issued by his office.
From Israel, Trump will make his way to Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s office said he will co-chair a “peace summit” on Monday with regional and international leaders.
Significance of this moment
Today’s release of hostages is a critical moment in the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Ever since the October 7, 2023 attacks, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The war has also destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90 per cent of its two million residents.
Now, with the release of the hostages there is hope that the fighting will end and Gaza will be reconstructed. However, there are a few obstacles that remain.
With inputs from agencies