 "The message says:
“On behalf of the entire people of Israel, welcome back!
We have been waiting for you. We embrace you.
Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu”")
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, extended a personal and emotional welcome to the first group of Israeli hostages released by the Palestinian group Hamas, as part of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
The couple included a handwritten note in Hebrew with welcome kits prepared for the returning individuals, which read: “On behalf of the entire people of Israel, welcome back! We have been waiting for you. We embrace you. Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu.”
The Prime Minister’s office, which shared an image of the note on X, confirmed the welcome packages contain essential personal items, including new clothing, a mobile phone, a tablet, and a laptop.
The first phase of the ceasefire has secured the release of 20 Israeli hostages, who had been held in Gaza for over two years following the deadly Hamas attack on Israeli towns on October 7, 2023. That initial assault resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the seizure of more than 250 hostages.
Among those freed in the initial exchange were Bar Abraham Kupershtein, Evyatar David, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Segev Kalfon, Avinatan Or, Elkana Bohbot, Maxim Herkin, Nimrod Cohen, Matan Angrest, Matan Zangauker, Eitan Horn, Eitan Abraham Mor, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Omri Miran, Alon Ohel, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Rom Braslavski, Ariel Cunio, and David Cunio.
Trump’s peace roadmap
The release is the first step in a broader roadmap proposed by US President Donald Trump , who declared earlier today that the “war is over” in Gaza.
The plan called for the eventual handover of all 47 hostages—both alive and deceased—still in the custody of the militant group. After the surviving hostages were transferred, Israel agreed to release around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in return. The exchange of hostages and prisoners has now been completed.
Following his visit to Israel, Trump is scheduled to travel to Egypt to co-host a summit with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The summit will bring together more than 20 world leaders to support the US plan, which includes replacing Israeli forces during a partial withdrawal from Gaza with a multinational force coordinated by a US-led command center in Israel.
The conflict has a long history, with major fighting flaring up multiple times since Hamas won parliamentary elections and took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Israel’s retaliatory strikes following the October 7, 2023, attack have displaced nearly 2 million people and caused massive devastation.