Hostages in Gaza reunited with their families after two years

Matan Zanjoker, 25, walks smiling in his mother’s arms.

“You are my life,” she shouted as she hugged him tightly in footage filmed by the Israeli army. “My life. My hero. Come, come.”

Matan was one of 20 surviving hostages who remained in Gaza after being captured during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023. They were released on Monday after two years in captivity.

His mother, Einav, campaigned fiercely for Matan’s return. She became among the movement’s most recognizable faces, and demanded that the Israeli government agree to a hostage exchange with Hamas.

Last week, she and her daughter lit fireworks in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square to celebrate a ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas as part of Donald Trump’s peace plan.

On Monday, crowds gathered and chanted in the same square as they watched footage on large screens of Matan and the other 19 freed hostages returning to Israel and reuniting with their families.

People waved Israeli and American flags and held up pictures of the hostages and banners reading, “They are coming home.”

Matan and his accomplice Ilana Gretzowski were taken from Nir Oz, but Ilana was released during a ceasefire the following month.

In December 2024, Hamas released a video showing Matan in captivity, in which he said he and his fellow hostages were suffering from skin diseases and lack of food, water, and medicine.

In a video call with Matan on Monday shortly after his release, Einav told him: “Thank God, the war is over. The war is over.”

The family said in a later statement: “After two years of hell, today we begin a new chapter of our lives – one of recovery and rehabilitation.”

This sentiment was shared by many families who were reunited with their loved ones.

The family of Eitan Horn, who was also taken from Nir Oz and whose brother Yair was released during the February ceasefire, said they would receive “hugs and lots of love and we will accompany him through the entire recovery process.”

Relatives of Eviatar David, 24, who was taken from the Nova Music Festival and was seen emaciated in a tunnel in a video released by Hamas in August, said they always “knew he would come back.”

“After two years of suffering, he is here. And now a new healing journey will begin for Eviatar and for us,” they said in a statement.

The living hostages were collected from meeting points in Gaza by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which acted as a neutral intermediary in the handover operations.

They were then reunited with their loved ones at reception points near the Gaza border, before being airlifted to hospitals to begin the physical and psychological treatment process.

Israel witnessed celebrations for the return of the twenty hostages. People waved to the sky and rejoiced as military helicopters flew past them on their way to hospitals.

Inbar Goldstein, whose relatives were released in the November 2023 ceasefire, told the BBC she felt “happy and grateful.”

“I know that sad days are still ahead of us, but I want to separate what I know from what I feel,” she said.

Elsewhere in the square, teenager Yarden told the BBC: “We are here for the hostages, to release them and to celebrate them. Today all Israelis are together – it’s not about the left or the right, it’s about everyone coming together to celebrate the hostages.”

But while the living hostages have now been returned, many families of those killed in captivity are still waiting, with Hamas saying only four of 28 bodies will be released on Monday. The Israeli army said that it would conduct forensic examinations before confirming their identities and informing their families.

A copy of the ceasefire agreement published by Israeli media said that the remains of all deceased hostages must be handed over by 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday. However, it also appears to acknowledge that Hamas and other Palestinian factions may not be able to locate them all within this time frame.

The deal also included the release of about 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons who were convicted of crimes including murder and fatal attacks against Israelis – and about 1,700 detainees from Gaza who were held by Israel without being charged.

In a statement, the Israeli army urged Hamas to “keep its part of the deal” by returning all the bodies.

The Matan family said there will be no closure until this happens.

They added: “We will continue to stand with the bereaved families and fight until the last hostage is returned home.”