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Einav Zangauker could hardly hold back her tears as she spoke to her son over the phone for the first time in two years.
“You are coming back home. You are all coming home! I love you,” she told him, voice choked with emotion. “The war is over. There is no more war!”
The outpouring of emotion between mother and child came as hostage Matan Zangauker was about to be released by Hamas after more than 730 days in captivity. The terror group released all 20 of the remaining living hostages early on Monday, as part of Donald Trump’s deal for peace in Gaza.
There were tears of joy and relief as the returning hostages were embraced by their loved ones, having prayed for their release every day since the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023.
Hamas had given captives their phones to make calls before their release, ending more than two miserable years held in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.
Julie Kupershtein, mother of 23-year-old Bar, was able to speak to her son before meeting him in Israel. Bar was working as a paramedic at the Nova music festival when he was taken hostage.
“Seeing my child after two years – everything is fine,” she told The Guardian. “Thank you to the soldiers, thank you to everyone.”
“We were in the compound, and suddenly I had a conversation. Suddenly I saw Bar.
“I screamed to the sky. Crazy. To see them, these pure, righteous children, alive. I’m shaking all over.”
Upon returning to Israel, Bar hugged his father, Tal, who was seen standing up from his wheelchair. It was the first time he had seen his father stand since Tal had a stroke during surgery some five years ago, the Times of Israel reports.
In a statement, the family described the arduous “two years during which Tal kept moving forward, doing everything possible despite his own challenges – all so he could be ready for that hug with Bar.”
Silvia Cunio, mother of hostages Ariel and David, said that her children were also able to make a brief video call ahead of their release.
“I could not hear anything, but I saw them, and this is enough,” she told Channel 12 News. “They are okay.”
But the moment was nearly missed – Silvia almost did not pick up the phone because she did not recognise the number, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Ariel was kidnapped from Nir Oz with his brother, David, and his girlfriend, Arbel Yehoud, who was released in January this year.
David’s wife Sharon and their young twins were released from Gaza in November 2023. In August, Sharon said she had seen a video of her husband in captivity, and said he looked “very desperate, and hungry, and misses me and his family”.
David, who played a role in the 2013 film Youth, was the subject of Michtav Le’David (Letter to David), a “personal cinematic letter from filmmaker Tom Shoval to David Cunio”.
Ruhama, the mother of hostage Elkana Bohbot, was elated to be able to speak to her son this morning.
“You amazing person, my life. Speak to me,” she told him, as reported by Israel National News. He responded: “It’s all okay.”
“He looked good, smiling ear to ear”, she said after the call. “You don’t understand. This is amazing.”
Mr Bohbot appeared visibly weak and lying on the floor in a video released by Hamas in May. He appeared to be under duress saying that the bombardment of Gaza would cost him his life and asking to be reunited with his family.
He was one of the organisers of the Nova music festival, where Hamas led a massacre that killed hundreds of people. Before he was taken, he contacted his wife, Rivka, and mother to say he was helping to evacuate the wounded.
Mr Bohbot had only recently opened an ice cream shop in Tel Aviv before he was taken hostage, and was looking forward to bringing his young son, now four, before he was taken hostage.
Tami Braslavski, the mother of hostage Rom Braslavski, was seen in video telling her son she loved him and that she was waiting for his return.
“He told me, ‘Mom, don’t worry – what will happen will happen,” she told Israel’s Channel 12.
Family members cried and smiled during their call with Rom, posted to social media.
Earlier this year, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad published video of Mr Braslavski, frail and crying in captivity. He was also abducted during the music festival near kibbutz Re’im.
Omri Miran, among the hostages released today, played with his two young daughters at hospital while being examined by doctors upon his return.
He was able to speak his daughters Roni, 4, and Alma, 2, on a tablet after leaving Gaza on Monday morning.
Mr Miran was abducted in front of his wife and daughters on October 7, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The IDF shared photos of Avinatan Or embracing his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, who was also taken into Gaza as a hostage and rescued by Israeli forces in June 2024.
Mr Or embraced Ms Argamani and met with loved ones after his release on Monday.
Avi Ohana, father of hostage Yosef-Chaim Ohana, told his son that “everyone is waiting” for them to come home.
“I saw his smile – it reminded me of his smile from two years ago,” he told Channel 12.
Yosef was abducted from the festival after trying to help wounded partygoers.
Hamas released a proof of life video of Yosef and Mr Bohbot earlier this year. Yosef’s family said at the time it “gave them hope”, but they were shocked by how thin he was.
Who are the freed hostages?
Alon Ohel
One of the first seven hostages to arrive back in Israel, Alon Ohel was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7.
Born and raised in Lavon, a settlement in northern Israel, he had moved to Tel Aviv with friends and planned to start a course at the Rimon School of Music in October 2023.
Friends and family described him as a “cheerful, happy” man, “surrounded by friends, loves life and good food”. Mr Ohel has a brother and sister, Ronen and Inbar, and is the son of Kobi and Idit.
The 24-year-old went to Nova with friends but was forced to flee to a shelter in Re’im when the shooting began. He was taken by Hamas alongside Eliya Cohen, Or Levy, and the late Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Eitan Avraham Mor
Eitan Avraham Mor, a barista working in Jerusalem, was on the security team at the Nova festival when he was taken hostage by Hamas.
Mr Mor stayed back to help evacuate wounded festivalgoers at Nova before he was kidnapped, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
A previously released hostage, Ron Krivoi, who spent three days with Mr Mor in a tunnel, told of his “big smile and hope that didn't fade even in the depths of the earth”.
Gali Berman
Gali Berman, 28, was kidnapped alongside his twin brother Ziv.
Mr Berman was born and raised in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and worked providing sound and lighting for events.
His friends described him as the first person they call when they need help, adding he has a “wide heart”, a statement from the hostage families forum said.
The pair were kidnapped from the Kfar Aza Kibbutz along with Emily Damari.
Ziv Berman
Gali Berman’s twin brother Ziv also arrived back in Israel on Monday morning.
Described as an “amazing and kind-hearted person” with a “captivating joy for life,” Ziv loves exploring the world alongside his brother and travelled to Costa Rica before he was kidnapped, according to the Forum.
Both Gali and Ziv Berman are said to have coordinated their work shifts to help their father Doron with treatments for his Parkinson’s disease.
Guy Gilboa-Dalal
Guy Gilboa-Dalal was also taken from the Nova music festival on October 7.
Raised in Alfei Menashe on the western edge of the central West Bank, he had a huge admiration for Japanese culture and anime, and had planned a trip to visit, the Forum said.
A “diehard” fan of Maccabi Haifa FC, the 24-year-old also loves to play guitar and spend time with his friends and family, the statement added.
He was kidnapped along with his childhood friend, Evyatar David.
Matan Angrest
One of the hostages who was captured while serving in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), Matan Angrest was defending the Nahal Oz outpost in southern Israel during the attack.
He has been described by his family as a “patriot” and received a certificate of merit from the commander of Brigade 7. Outside of service, the 22-year-old is said to love Maccabi Haifa FC, playing video games, and listening to music.
During his kidnapping, he was reportedly lynched while unconscious, and several testimonies have said he was “starved and severely tortured” in captivity, according to the Forum.
Omri Miran
Omri Miran, 48, grew up in the Galilee but later moved to the Nahal Oz kibbutz in the south of the country.
A passionate sportsman, Mr Miran played football and basketball in his kibbutz teams.
Described as an “active, involved and dedicated father”, his family said his “greatest love” is time with his two daughters, Roni and Alma, who were just two years and six months old respectively when he was kidnapped.
Yosef-Chaim Ohana
Yosef-Chaim Ohana is said to have been kidnapped while helping the wounded during the massacre at the Nova music festival.
He reportedly told his friends that he “does not leave wounded in the field,” and was later taken by Hamas.
From Kiryat Malachi in southern Israel, Mr Ohana’s family said they received a “clear” sign that he was still alive in February. In May 2025, he was identified in a Hamas video alongside Elkana Bohbot.
Segev Kalfon
Segev Kalfon was running from the Nova festival with friends when he was taken on October 7.
A finance student and IDF veteran from Dimona in the Negev desert, the 27-year-old was described by his family as a “funny person with a big heart”.
In February 2025, released hostage Ohad Ben Ami said he had been held alongside Mr Kalfon with four other men in a tunnel in “terrible conditions”.
Rom Braslavski
Rom Braslavski, 21, was taken from the Nova rave while working as a security guard on October 7. He was reportedly trying to help others.
In August 2025, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a video of him in tears as he said he had run out of food and water. In the video, he said he is unable to stand or walk, and “is at death’s door”.
Nimrod Cohen
An IDF soldier stationed at Nahal Oz, 21-year-old Nimrod Cohen was captured by Hamas after his tank was attacked.
According to the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters, he was the only survivor of the tank attack.
In February, his family were told by released hostages that he was still alive but in poor physical and mental condition.
Matan Zangauker
Taken alongside his partner Ilana Gritzewsky, Matan Zangauker was kidnapped from Nir Oz in southern Israel.
Gritzewsky was released during the November 2023 ceasefire and has fought for him to join her ever since.
In December 2024, Hamas released a video of Mr Zangauker in captivity, where he said he was suffering from skin ailments and a shortage of food and water.
Maksym Harkin
Ukrainian native Maksym Harkin, 37, was attending the Nova music festival with friends at the time of the October 7 attack.
Mr Harkin was taken hostage and appeared alongside Bar Kupershtein in a Hamas video in April 2025. He later appeared in a separate video, wearing bandages for injuries Hamas said had been sustained during an Israeli airstrike.
Speaking to Ynet News on Monday morning, his mother Tala Harkin said: “This is the best morning in the world. I’m happy and confused. My head can’t process all the information.”
Evyatar David
Evyatar David was taken from the Nova music festival. He had texted his family shortly before he was taken saying: “They are bombarding the party.”
Hamas shared a video of Mr David in August. He appeared emaciated and weak. “He’s a human skeleton. He was being starved to the point where he can be dead at any moment,” said his brother Ilay.
Mr David was reportedly kidnapped alongside his best friend Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who has also been released.
Elkana Bohbot
Elkana Bohbot was reportedly working as a logistics coordinator at the Nova festival before he was taken on October 7.
His family said he stayed at the festival grounds to help evacuate the wounded before being kidnapped.
In May, Hamas published a video showing Mr Bohbot alongside Yosef-Chaim Ohana. He had an intravenous drip hooked up to the wall next to him.
Eitan Horn
Eitan Horn was visiting his brother Yair in Kibbutz Nir Oz when the pair were both kidnapped on October 7.
The brothers were reportedly held together until Yair was released during the February 2025 ceasefire. Hamas released a video at the time showing Eitan and Yair hugging and crying.
He is said to have immigrated to Israel as a teenager and lives in Kfar Saba.
David Cunio
David Cunio, also kidnapped alongside his brother, was taken by Hamas from the Nir Oz on October 7.
His family said he held the safe room door in their home for five hours on the day of the attack before he was eventually taken hostage. His wife and their two daughters were kidnapped and returned after 52 days in captivity.
He was released alongside his brother Ariel.
Ariel Cunio
David’s brother Ariel, 28, was also taken from Nir Oz. His partner, Arbel Yehoud, was taken alongside him, but released in January 2025.
Ariel's brother Eitan, who escaped the Hamas-led gunmen, said the last message from Ariel said: “We are in a horror movie.”
Bar Kupershtein
Bar Kupershstein, 23, was working at the Nova festival as an usher. He was reportedly rescuing attendees before he was kidnapped.
His family identified him in a video of hostages, but then he was not seen until April 2025 when he appeared in a video alongside Maxim Harkin. He had previously served in the IDF’s Nahal Brigade.
Avinatan Or
Also celebrating at Nova music festival on October 7, Avinatan Or was one of dozens taken hostage by Hamas.
The 32-year-old was taken alongside his girlfriend Noa Argamani, who was rescued during a military operation in Gaza last year.
In March 2025, Avinatan’s family said they had received a sign that he was still alive.
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