Last living hostages all released after 738 days in Hamas hell

(by Ronny Reyes, NY Post) – All living hostages in Gaza were released by Hamas Monday — with all 20 reportedly walking to Red Cross trucks under their own power following a historic cease-fire deal brokered by President Trump.

The first seven hostages returned to Israel around 2:30 a.m. ET Monday after being transported out of the Palestinian territory by Red Cross trucks. The remaining 13 hostages were released by Hamas hours later.

Emotional scenes emerged as the hostages spoke to family members for the first time after 738 days in Hamas hell.

Twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, who were kept apart for two years, embraced as they were finally reunited.

Mothers and fathers sobbed as they saw their sons for the first time in video calls. In-person reunions [took place] later on Monday.

The bodies of 28 other hostages are still in the Palestinian enclave and are expected to be released over the next several days. [Four of the 28 were released on Monday]. …

More than 250 hostages were originally taken captive [into Gaza by Hamas terrorists] during the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks on southern Israel [in which over 1,200 were barbarically murdered by the savages].

The captives endured horrific conditions, according to survivors who were released as part of previous deals or rescued by the Israel Defense Forces. They reported being tortured, raped, and starved.

One hostage, Evyatar David, was forced to dig his own grave as part of a sick Hamas propaganda video released in August, which showed him extremely gaunt.

In September 2024, Hamas executed six hostages with point-blank shots after Israeli troops got too close to their hiding place.

The war also devastated Gaza, with huge swaths of the enclave destroyed by Israeli strikes. The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry claims that more than 67,000 Palestinians were killed, but that figure does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.

The release of the hostages marks a major turning point in the Gaza war — and a step toward ending it once and for all, per Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

After Israel agreed to the cease-fire deal, it withdrew its troops from much of Gaza [the IDF still controls 53%] and stopped attacking Hamas.

What comes next is a complex deal, in which Trump and Israel’s Middle Eastern neighbors will work to force Hamas to disarm and give up power.

Along with the living captives, Hamas was ordered to hand over the bodies of all the dead hostages whose whereabouts it knows, with an international effort set to begin to locate the remains of those missing.

It remains unclear how many bodies Hamas and its extremist allies have lost in the war, which saw large swaths of Gaza reduced to rubble and the terror network’s tunnel system repeatedly blown up.

Like with the previous hostage exchanges, the Red Cross was scheduled to drop the hostages off with the Israeli military, which will proceed to transport the captives to medical facilities to be treated.

Once all the hostages crossed the border, the IDF began releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including about 250 who are serving life sentences for the atrocities and murder they committed during the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The hostage exchange marks a major point in Trump’s cease-fire deal, with its completion allowing humanitarian aid to flood into the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The exchange also came the day Trump arrived in Israel to [address the Israeli Knesset], mark the end of the Gaza war and to welcome the captives back, including the slain Itay Chen and Omer Neutra, both of whom were Americans.

Published at NY Post on Oct. 13, 2025. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission.

This combo of images provided by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum shows Israeli hostages, top row from left, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, Ariel Cunio; second row from from left, David Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Maksym Harkin, Eitan Horn, Bipin Joshi; third row from left, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kupershtein, Matan Angrest, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Tamir Nimrodi: bottom row from left, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or, Matan Zangauker.
Hostages and Missing Families Forum

The surviving hostages — confirmed by both Israel and Hamas — who were released are:

• Matan Angrest, 22
• Ziv Berman, 28
• Gali Berman, 28
• Elkana Bohboot, 36
• Rom Braslavski, 21
• Nimrod Cohen, 20
• Ariel Cunio, 28
• David Cunio, 35
• Evyatar David, 24
• Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24
• Maxim Herkin, 37
• Eitan Horn, 38
• Segev Kalfon, 27
• Bar Kupershtein, 23
• Omri Miran, 48
• Eitan Abraham Mor, 25
• Yosef-Chaim Ohana, 25
• Alon Ohel, 24
• Avinatan Or, 32
• Matan Zangauker, 25

The 26 who are presumed dead include:

• Inbar Hayman, 27
• Tamir Adar, 38
• Mohammad Alatrash, 39
• Sahar Baruch, 24
• Uriel Baruch, 35
• Amiram Cooper, 85
• Itay Chen, 19, an Israeli-American
• Oz Daniel, 19
• Ronen Engel, 54
• Ran Gvili, 24
• Manny Godard, 73
• Tal Haimi, 41
• Asaf Hamami, 40
• Guy Illouz, 26
• Eitan Levi, 53
• Eliyahu Margalit, 75
• Joshua Mollel, 21
• Omer Neutra, 21, of New York
• Sonthaya Oakkharasri
• Dror Or, 48
• Daniel Perez, 22
• Sudthisak Rinthalak
• Lior Rudaeff, 61
• Yossi Sharabi, 53
• Arye Zalmanovich, 85
• Hadar Goldin, 25

The conditions of two others, Bipin Joshi, 24, and Tamir Nimrodi, 20, were unknown to the public before the hostage exchange.