US President Donald Trump arrived in Israel this Monday, October 13, shortly after the release by Hamas of seven hostages held in Gaza, of the last 20 who were still alive. The last 13 hostages were handed over to the Red Cross a few hours later, before a summit in Egypt on Palestinian territory.
Donald Trump stepped off the presidential plane and was greeted by the Israeli president and prime minister. As he exited Air Force One, the American head of state raised his fist.
At the same time, the head of diplomacy of the European Union celebrated, on Day X, the release of the Israeli hostages, “possible thanks to President Trump.”
Before that, Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced that he wanted to award his American counterpart, Donald Trump, his country’s highest civilian decoration in gratitude for his contribution to the release of hostages held in Gaza, according to an official statement published on Monday.
The American president will deliver a speech before the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem. He arrived there in the morning.
“We were waiting for this moment”
Upon the announcement of these releases that have been expected for two years throughout Israel, the first step of the plan proposed by the American president, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square and exulted.
“We were waiting for this moment, but there is still sadness for those who do not return and for the almost 2,000 dead of the war, two years of madness that are ending… But it is a beautiful day, the one we have been waiting for for two years,” Ronny Edry, a 54-year-old teacher, told AFP.
The hostages, released on the fourth day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, were kidnapped on October 7, 2023 during the bloody attack carried out by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil, which triggered a devastating Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The first hostages had been released, out of a total of 251 kidnapped, during two previous truces. The hostages freed on Monday were to return to Israel after being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross and then to Israeli security forces, while the ICRC left to collect other hostages.
A meeting at the Place des Otages
In the Plaza de los Otages, dozens of people began to gather before dawn around a screen where the portraits of the hostages were shown, to follow the first liberations live.
Some had serious faces, others smiled, many hugged each other while the song Habayta (“at home,” in Hebrew) played on a loop over the speakers.
“Welcome home,” said the Israeli Foreign Ministry. But the Families Forum warned that its fight “will not end” until all the hostages and their remains are returned to Israel. For French President Emmanuel Macron, “peace is becoming possible for Israel, Gaza and the region.”
Source: BFM TV
