‘My life, my hero’: Gaza hostages reunite with families after two years

Matan Zangauker, 25, walks grinning into his mother’s arms.

“You’re my life,” she exclaims, hugging him tightly in footage filmed by the Israeli military. “My life. My hero. Come, come.”

Matan was one of 20 living hostages remaining in Gaza after being taken during the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023, who were freed on Monday after two years in captivity.

His mother, Einav, has campaigned fiercely for Matan’s return. She became among the best-known faces of the movement, and demanded the Israeli government agree a hostage exchange with Hamas.

Last week, she and her daughter lit fireworks in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to celebrate the ceasefire deal that had been agreed between Israel and Hamas as part of Donald Trump’s peace plan.

On Monday, crowds gathered and cheered in the same square as they watched footage on big screens of Matan and the other 19 freed hostages returning to Israel and reuniting with their families.

People waved the Israeli and US flags and held up photos of the hostages and signs saying “they’re coming home”.

Matan was taken with his partner Ilana Gritzewsky from Nir Oz, but Ilana was released during a ceasefire the following month.

In December 2024, Hamas released a video showing Matan in captivity in which he said he and his fellow hostages were suffering from skin ailments and shortages of food, water and medicine.

In a video call with Matan on Monday shortly after his release, Einav told him: “Thank God, the war is over. The war is over.”

In a later statement, the family said that “after two years of hell, today we begin a new chapter of our lives – one of healing and rehabilitation”.

That sentiment was shared by several of the families who were reunited with their loved ones.

The family of Eitan Horn, who was also taken from Nir Oz, and whose brother Yair was released during a ceasefire in February, said they would have “hugs and lots of love and we will accompany him through the entire recovery process”.

Relatives of 24-year-old Evyatar David, who was taken from the Nova music festival and was seen emaciated in a tunnel in a video published by Hamas in August, said they always “knew he would return”.

“After two years of suffering, he is here. Now a new journey of healing will begin for Evyatar and us,” they said in a statement.

The living hostages were collected from meeting points in Gaza by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has acted as a neutral intermediary in the handovers.

They were then reunited with loved ones at reception points near the Gaza border, before being airlifted to hospitals to begin the process of physical and psychological treatment.

There were celebrations across Israel as the 20 hostages returned. People waved at the sky and cheered when they were flown overhead in military helicopters on their way to hospitals.

Inbar Goldstein, whose own relatives were released in the November 2023 ceasefire, told the BBC she was feeling “happy and thankful”.

“I know that sad days are still ahead but I want to separate between what I know and what I feel,” she said.

Elsewhere in the square, teenager Yarden told the BBC: “We’re here for the hostages, their release and to celebrate them. Today all Israelis are together – it’s not about left or right, it’s about all being together to celebrate the hostages.”

But while the living hostages have now been returned, many families of those killed in captivity are still waiting, with Hamas saying only four bodies out of 28 would be released on Monday. The Israeli military said it would carry out forensic tests before confirming their identities and informing their families.

A copy of the ceasefire agreement published by Israeli media had stated that the remains of all of the deceased hostages should be handed over by 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday. However, it also appeared to acknowledge that Hamas and other Palestinian factions may not be able to locate all of them within that timeframe.

The deal also involved the release of about 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails who had been convicted of crimes including murder and deadly attacks against Israelis – and about 1,700 detainees from Gaza who had been held by Israel without charge.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) urged Hamas to “uphold its end of the deal” by returning all of the bodies.

Matan’s family said there could be no closure until this happened.

“We will continue to stand beside the bereaved families and to fight until the last hostage is brought home,” they said.