Emotional Reunions: Freed Israeli Hostages Embrace Loved Ones in Heartfelt Homecoming

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Freed Israeli hostages and their family and friends bounded into one another’s arms on Monday, beaming and crying with joy at the end of the captives’ two-year ordeal in Gaza.

Recent footage released by the Israeli military captures the heartfelt moments of families reuniting, showcasing the intense emotions experienced during these encounters.

A man in a white shirt and a woman in a white sweater embracing, their arms around one another.

One particularly moving scene features Matan Zangauker being warmly embraced by his mother, Einav Zangauker.

“My life, you are my life … you are a hero,” cried Einav Zangauker as she embraced her smiling son Matan, in one video.

“Love of your mother, bless you, bless you, my dear.”

Two men and a woman sitting inside a helicopter, holding a whiteboard with writing on it.

Eitan Mor (middle) aboard an Israeli military helicopter with his family. Source: AFP / Israeli Army

Eitan Mor’s father wailed in relief as he and the young man’s mother squeezed him tight, the footage showed.

A man draped in an Israeli flag waving from a white van.

Bar Kuperstein waves from the window of a bus at Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Centre in Ramat Gan, Israel. Source: AFP / Ahmad Gharabli

Other young hostages such as Bar Kuperstein and Yosef Haim Ohana waved from the windows of vans that brought them to the Sheba medical centre near Tel Aviv, as cheering crowds nearby raised Israeli flags.

Freed Israeli-German twins Gali and Ziv Berman smiled and gave the thumbs-up, wearing the yellow and blue shirts of their favourite football team, Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Two men wearing blue and yellow jerseys, with one also draped in an Israeli flag.

Ziv (left) and Gali (right) Berman after being handed over in the prisoner-hostage swap. Source: AFP / Israeli Army

Hostages’ families rejoice

In nearby Tel Aviv, hundreds of people erupted in joy, tears and song on Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Monday as news of the releases broke.

Many had come at sunrise, carrying pictures of the hostages and waving Israeli flags bearing a yellow ribbon, a symbol of the movement calling for their release.

“It’s so exciting and overwhelming that it’s finally happening,” said Shelly Bar Nir, 34.

A man and a woman embracing, with their arms around each other.

Omri Miran (left) was received by a family member. Source: AFP / Israeli Army

“What we’ve been fighting for, for over two years — finally our hostages are coming home.”

Another woman on the square, Noga, who wore a badge that read “Last day”, shared her pain and joy.

“I’m torn between emotion and sadness for those who won’t be coming back,” she said.

A man wearing a grey shirt smiling, standing near three other men and a woman who are all also smiling.

Elkana Bohbot greeted upon his arrival at the Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Centre. Source: AFP / Ahmad Gharabli

Hamas and its militant allies took 251 hostages into Gaza during the October 7 attack on Israel in 2023.

Many of them were released in earlier truces, but 47 people seized on October 7 remained in Gaza. Only 20 of them are alive.

Since that day, Noga has worn a small badge each day, counting the days of their captivity.

‘Welcome home’

For the past two years, people have held frequent rallies and gatherings on this spot in Tel Aviv that has become known as Hostages Square.

When the news broke that the first seven of the remaining hostages had been released on Monday, the square broke out in cheers and song.

Israel later confirmed all living 20 hostages had returned to the country, with a series of posts on X that read: “Welcome home”.

A man making a heart sign with his hands.

Avinatan Or greets well-wishers upon arriving at Beilinson Hospital in the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva, Israel. Source: AFP / Menahem Kahana

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main organisation representing their relatives, had called on people to gather at the site with the yellow ribbons.

As the war in the Gaza Strip has dragged on, the ribbons became ubiquitous in public spaces in Israel, from roundabouts to car door handles and stroller grips.

Israel did not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday.

“Our struggle is not over. It will not end until the last hostage is located and returned for proper burial,” the forum said in a statement.

“Only then will the people of Israel be whole.”

In exchange for the hostages, Israel freed nearly 2,000 prisoners and detainees held in its jails, most of them Gazans detained since the start of the war.