Jewish leaders rejoiced as 20 Israeli hostages — the last known living hostages — were freed from Hamas captivity on Monday under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and the terrorist group, just over two years since they and some 230 others, living and dead, were kidnapped from southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attacks. 

“Today, Jews everywhere are finally exhaling. The last living hostages are home in Israel,” said Sheila Katz, the outgoing CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women. “As a former trauma counselor, I know that when safety returns, it brings a kind of relief we didn’t know we needed, a lightness we’d forgotten was possible. But we can’t go back to who we were before Oct. 7. We carry the pain, and we carry each other, as we begin to figure out who we can be now. We celebrate life. We celebrate this deal. We celebrate today. And soon, we will mourn — for the hostages who did not return alive, for the families whose pain will never end, for the tremendous loss of these two unbearable years.”

The 20 hostages were freed in two rounds. Shortly before 9 a.m., in Gaza City, Hamas handed over seven of the captives to the Red Cross, which then transferred them to Israeli forces in Gaza. Roughly half an hour later, the seven crossed the border into Israeli territory, heading to the Israel Defense Forces’ Reim base just outside the Strip. There, they met their families and underwent an initial physical exam before heading to hospitals in central Israel. Roughly two hours later, in Khan Younis, Hamas transferred the remaining 13 hostages to the Red Cross, who handed them to Israeli forces. Shortly before noon, they crossed the border into Israel.

The freed hostages are: Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, Ariel Cunio, David Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kupershtein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

“For 738 days, 48 out of 250 people kidnapped from Israel have been held in captivity by Hamas terrorists, in horrific conditions. Through 18 major Jewish holidays and 105 Shabbat dinners, Jewish families in Israel and around the world had empty chairs at our tables, yellow ribbons on our lapels and fractures in our hearts,” the Jewish Federations of North America wrote in a statement. “Today we rejoice as the 20 surviving hostages come home to their loved ones and finally fill the empty chairs at our tables and begin mending our broken hearts.”

For the past two years, the Jewish communal world has rallied around the cause of the hostages and their families, lobbying governments and drumming up public support for them. 

“We never stopped fighting for your release, and today — together with Jews around the world — we celebrate your return to Israel!” the American Jewish Committee, which regularly hosted the relatives of hostages in the U.S. and in international fora, wrote in a statement. 

Jewish leaders hailed President Donald Trump for pushing through the deal.

“As hostages return from Gaza to their families and their nation, let us offer a blessing for President Donald Trump and all who helped make this miracle possible,” Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, wrote on X. “When hope seemed lost, they stood firm and prevailed. May God bless them with peace, strength, and wisdom.”

The Conservative movement similarly lauded Trump and “the many leaders and negotiators whose efforts made this possible.”

In a joint statement, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and Rabbinical Assembly also noted that the hostage release took place on the last day of the Sukkot holiday in Israel.

“As we welcome home these beloved souls and conclude the holiday of Sukkot, we recall the prayer we recite each evening, ‘Ufros aleinu sukkat sh’lomekha’ – May You spread over us Your canopy of peace,” the organizations wrote.

In a statement, the Orthodox Union expressed gratitude to President Trump and offered prayers for the State of Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu, the hostage families and the Israeli military.  

“Our gratitude to President Trump knows no bounds. We express it in praying that G-d continues to guide his global leadership,“ the statement said. “We pray that G-d bless and protect the State of Israel and guide Prime Minister Netanyahu and the leaders of the State of Israel with His light and truth. We pray for the healing of the hostages who have returned alive and for comfort for the families of those deceased. We pray to the Almighty for the strength and perseverance of the soldiers of Tzahal to whom our gratitude is unending, we pray that G-d grant them and their families strength and healing, and that He bring comfort to the families of those who gave their lives for our people.”

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, described the hostage release as “a moment of profound relief, reunion and hope,” and reaffirmed the organization’s “commitment to a future rooted in safety, dignity, and peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Philanthropist and World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder noted that while the 20 living hostages were freed, 28 slain hostages remain in captivity, and it is not yet clear when they will all be released. (Four of the bodies will be returned on Monday, far fewer than had been anticipated.)

“Today, we welcome home twenty brave human beings who were forced to endure the unimaginable. This is the moment that the people of Israel and Jews across the Diaspora have prayed for, fought for and refused to stop believing in. It is what their families have dreamed of every single day since October 7, 2023,” said Lauder, who has long pushed for a hostage release deal and for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite the opposition of Israel’s government.

In his statement, Lauder hailed the efforts of “Arab and Muslim nations – Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt” in bringing Hamas to the negotiating table. 

“This is a time to rejoice, but we remain incomplete as we await the return of the 28 hostages who perished during their cruel captivity,” Lauder said. “We cannot allow Hamas to exploit or evade this agreement. The international community must finally put an end to the decades of terror and retribution that have strangled the people of Gaza. Hamas must now be disarmed, it can play no role in the future of the Palestinian people, and every last hostage must be brought home.”

“The incredible joy for the twenty living hostages who were released today is deeply marred by other developments,” Mort Klein, national president Zionist Organization of American, said in a statement.

Hamas is already violating the basic tenets of the Trump deal that call for Hamas’ disarmament and removal from Gazan governance, Klein pointed out: Hamas has reportedly has executed and kidnapped dozens of Gazans in an attempt to reassert control in the enclave and issued statements adamantly refusing to disarm. “The situation is reminiscent of Hamas seizing control of Gaza and killing rivals following Israel’s departure in 2005,” he said.