Israel All living hostages released after 738 days in captivity
After 738 days in captivity, the remaining hostages held by the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip have been released. Several Israeli media reported that 13 of the people kidnapped from Israel - including German-Israeli Rom Braslavski - had been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a second handover. Shortly before, the first seven hostages had been brought back to Israel, including the German-Israelis Alon Ohel and Gali and Ziv Berman. According to Israeli media, all of the released hostages are in "good condition".
13.10.2025, 10:21
SDA
Israel's military does not assume that Hamas will be able to hand over all 28 dead hostages today - and thus within the 72-hour deadline agreed as part of the ceasefire.
Shortly before their release, some of the hostages were reportedly able to make video calls to their relatives. Israeli media published pictures of the conversations, videos of which also appeared on social media. For the hostages, it was probably the first contact with their families after more than two years in captivity.
The videos serve as propaganda for the terrorist organization Hamas, which can use them to present itself as humane. In some of the images of the conversations, Hamas members can be seen in the background. Hamas has also been accused of using previous hostage releases for propaganda purposes.
Today's releases were therefore to take place without a public ceremony and without media representatives. "You are coming home - you are all coming home," said the mother of one hostage in tears, according to the Times of Israel. "There is no more war."
