‘How long we dreamt of this day’: Scenes of joy as families reunite across Israel and Palestine
After two years of heartache and many failed ceasefires, the family of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal did not dare to believe their long nightmare was over.
Seized at the Nova Music Festival during the bloody 7 October attack and held mostly in underground tunnels, the emaciated 22-year-old was filmed twice during his captivity – once, cruelly, showing him watching someone else being given their freedom.
But he was finally released on Monday – one of 20 hostages freed after one of the bloodiest conflicts of this generation – amid scenes of joy and deep pain for families across both Israel and Palestine.
“How long we have dreamt of this day,” said his father Ilan, locked in a group family hug. “Thank you God. Thank you, God. Thank you God.”
In Tel Aviv, destroyed Gaza and the occupied West Bank, families were finally reunited, hugging and crying uncontrollably in scenes that would be repeated throughout the day.
In a deal brokered by Donald Trump, all 20 living Israeli hostages and captives were released back to their families and nearly 2,000 Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons.
Among them were hundreds of Palestinians arrested in Gaza, who were sent back home to find only destruction and devastation.
Despite gaping holes in Trump’s 20-point plan for peace, and huge questions of what will happen to Gaza, the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination, there were moments of real joy.
In Hostages Square, central Tel Aviv, thousands of supporters had gathered from midnight to await the moment they had been waiting two years for.
Spontaneous dance parties broke out in the streets as shortly after 8am grainy images of those held started to appear on massive screens set up in the square.
Thin, pale and mostly dressed in army fatigues, the now-familiar faces emerged from Red Cross vehicles and Israeli military helicopters into the sunlight.
Loud cheers rang out whenever Trump – who spent a few hours in Israel being feted by an adoring audience at the Knesset before flying onto Egypt for a post-deal victory lap “summit of peace” – appeared on the screens.
He told Israeli lawmakers that “they’ve won” adding “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 grinning Netanyahu hailed Trump as “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House,” and he promised to work with him going forward.
