They’re free. Two years — 737 days, to be exact — after the Hamas terror attack that set off the war in Gaza, the last 20 living Israeli hostages left Gaza this morning. In exchange, nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are being let go; the first buses filled with them just started arriving in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The releases are part of the first phase of a cease-fire deal that took hold Friday. A triumphant President Trump, the force behind the deal, flew in Air Force One over jubilant crowds in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square and timed the plane’s touchdown to coincide exactly with the first hostages’ arrival in Israel. He is about to address Israel’s Parliament and then will head to a summit of world leaders in Egypt, where the agreement was negotiated.
“Israel has won all that can be won by force of arms,” Trump planned to say, according to prepared remarks released by the White House. “Now, it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”
A convoy of Red Cross vehicles ferried the hostages through tent encampments in Gaza and streets in southern Israel lined with people waving flags in solidarity. They were checked by doctors and given kits including laptops, mobile phones and a note from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that said, “We have been waiting for you.”
The father of one hostage, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, said he planned to tell his son, “The nightmare is over” and “We’re never leaving you again.” Friends of Alon Ohel, a 24-year-old pianist, sang and danced on a Tel Aviv rooftop after waiting up all night to welcome him.
Celebrations were far more muted in Gaza, where about 200,000 Palestinians returned this weekend to areas the Israeli military retreated from as part of the deal. They found flattened neighborhoods where there was still nowhere near enough to eat. “There’s nothing to be happy about,” Saed Abu Aita, 44, said. “My two daughters were killed, my home was destroyed and my health has deteriorated.”
The bigger picture
The release came on a significant day for many Jews, during the harvest festival known as “the time of our rejoicing.” Sunset on Monday is the start of Simchat Torah, the holiday during which the Hamas attack occurred two years ago.
Despite the elation and relief at the homecoming, gaping questions about the future remain. The primary one being: Is the war actually over? Benjamin Netanyahu has not said those words publicly. But when Trump was asked this by a reporter as he walked through a hallway of Israel’s Parliament this morning, he replied: “Yes, as far as I’m concerned, yes.”
Other key questions include: Will Hamas actually disarm, as Trump’s deal demands? Who will pay to rebuild Gaza, and who will govern it? Will Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, be re-elected? What will become of the genocide charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court?
As my colleagues David Sanger and Adam Rasgon wrote yesterday, it was “a brutal war that left Gaza destroyed, and Israel at once stronger and more diplomatically isolated than ever.” A recent New York Times poll showed that, even in the United States, a majority now sympathizes more with the Palestinians than with Israel.
And in Israel, Trump is the hero of the day. At the main entrance to Jerusalem, Israelis erected an eight-foot billboard depicting the president with a Nobel Prize-like medal and the caption “You are our winner.”
What to know
Who was freed? The 20 living hostages are all men, ages 21 to 48. Among those released today were 28-year-old twins who were abducted from a kibbutz, and the father of twin girls who were also abducted on Oct. 7 but returned in an earlier exchange. The remains of 26 others killed in captivity are expected to be returned soon. Read more about the hostages.
Two missing hostages: The list Hamas released today did not include the names of two hostages whose fate had been unclear, including a student from Nepal.
The Palestinian prisoners: Israel has promised to released 250 prisoners, most of whom are serving life sentences for killing Israelis and are expected to be deported. One such prisoner’s father, Fuad Kamamji, told The Times he was feeling “a strong sense of relief and peace.” The deal also calls for the release of 1,700 people detained as part of the war in Gaza.
The toll of the war: Gaza health officials estimate 67,000 Palestinians were killed in the past two years, a figure Israelis have not disputed. Virtually all of Gaza’s two million residents have been displaced, many multiple times, and are living in tents. Many have faced starvation. In Israel, 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted in the initial attack on Oct. 7, 2023. About 1,000 Israeli soldiers have died in the fighting since.
What’s next? Some 20 world leaders are expected at today’s summit, including the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu said he could not go because of the Jewish holiday. Hamas is not joining the talks.
Humanitarian help: Cooking oil, frozen meat and fresh fruit have begun entering Gaza, where 17 bakeries were back up and running this morning. “Today is better than yesterday,” the head of the bakers’ union said, “and tomorrow will hopefully be better.”
THE LATEST NEWS
Politics
It’s the 13th day of a government shutdown, and there is extra attention on the air traffic controllers who are working without pay.
A Christian group that helped topple Roe v. Wade is now focused on tightening alliances between MAGA and the rising British right, which it hopes to use as a launchpad to empower conservative Christianity across Europe.
Trump’s immigration crackdown in Chicago has escalated rapidly. Watch these videos that show how officers are detaining people — including American citizens.
War in Ukraine
The war is at a bloody stalemate. So Ukraine is striking western Russia, home to much of the country’s oil industry, to bring Moscow to the negotiating table.
The strikes are having an impact: There are gasoline shortages in Russia, and fuel prices are up.
Our colleague Maria Varenikova traveled to a secret Ukrainian launch site, from which the country is attacking Russia’s energy infrastructure.
More International News
A deadly border clash between Afghanistan and Pakistan is threatening to spill over into a broader conflict.
In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban is facing a particularly strong rival.
Trade
China has new export restrictions — on goods like cars, computer chips and fighter jets. The limits have set off a renewed trade fight between Beijing and Western countries.
After Trump threatened to impose more tariffs on China, Asian markets fell.
Wildfires
In California and elsewhere, “zombie fires” — blazes that firefighters thought had died but then came roaring back — have become more common.
Starting next year, Californians who survive wildfires will no longer have to tally every item in their homes to get the bulk of their insurance payouts.
Other Big Stories
At least four people were killed in a bar shooting on St. Helena, an island off South Carolina.
Emergency crews rescued dozens of Alaskans from floods.
OPINIONS
Wealthy countries have slashed billions in foreign aid. But developing countries have started taking greater responsibility for their own welfare by leveraging private investment, Rajiv Shah writes.
Universities are supposed to champion free speech. Citing security concerns as an excuse to cancel campus events contradicts that foundational principle, Danielle Sassoon writes.
MORNING READS
‘Michelangelo of movie posters’: Renato Casaro, an Italian artist, was beloved by directors for his ability to, as he put it, “capture the essential: that moment, that glance, that attitude, that movement that says everything and condenses the entire story.” He died at 89.
The churners: They own dozens of credit cards. Should you?
Turbocharged: If an energy drink drank an energy drink, you’d get a Celsius.
Visiting Europe? Expect to give more personal data.
Metropolitan Diary: Your fancy degree is no good here.
SPORTS
N.F.L.: Americans were searching online for the latest results. The Green Bay Packers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 27-18. The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Miami Dolphins 29-27 in the final minute — and the Chiefs-Lions game ended with a brawl.
N.B.A.: A Las Vegas casino mogul helped bring the league back to China. Read how.
Baseball: The Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game of their competition to play in the World Series, thanks in part to a game-tying homer from Cal Raleigh.
College football: Penn State fired James Franklin, the head coach, a day after losing its third game in a row.
GALES OF NOVEMBER
New England has “Moby-Dick.” The Mississippi River has Mark Twain. The Great Lakes have … “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”?
It’s a folk-rock shanty from Gordon Lightfoot about a boat that sank in 1975 — and it became an unlikely hit. It’s had a long afterlife not just on the airwaves, but also through bumper stickers, beer labels, Lego kits and memes. “It’s a kind of Midwest Titanic,” Jennifer Schuessler writes about its legacy.
Now, the region is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the wreck. Read more here.
More on culture
Diane Keaton could communicate a world of feeling with a single look. Watch her realize her husband’s true nature in “The Godfather” and the subtlety of her sacrifice and power in “Reds.” (One of the most-clicked stories yesterday showed her life in pictures.)
The de Young Museum in San Francisco is hosting the first manga exhibit in North America. The genre’s reach has stretched past Japan and gained international recognition as an art form.
On “Cannonball,” Wesley Morris and Bill Simmons of The Ringer talk Robert Redford’s legacy — and wonder if there are any true movie stars left.
THE MORNING RECOMMENDS …
Smoke salmon without a smoker. (This recipe uses a dry brine that mimics the fiery scents.)
Use the internet with a free VPN.
Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were balletic, celibate and citable.
And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Sports Connections and Strands.
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.
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Amelia Nierenberg contributed to this newsletter.