As the sun set in Israel on Monday, the Jewish holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah began, a joyous occasion that traditionally includes dancing. This year, the nation’s celebrations started earlier in the day with Hamas returning 20 living hostages who were taken on Oct. 7, 2023. There was jubilation in Palestinian territories as well, as Israel freed prisoners as part of the deal. Bloomberg Television’s chief Europe correspondent Oliver Crook reports on the mood in Jerusalem. Plus: The deal for TikTok on the table gives Trump another opportunity for influence. If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up. Monday dawned over Israel with 48 of its people—some alive, some not—still in the custody of Hamas fighters in Gaza. By 1 p.m. local time, all 20 of the living hostages were back in Israeli custody, headed toward hospitals and tearful reunions with their families. And by 8 p.m., the Israeli military said it was escorting four of the deceased captives back to the country. In the meantime, more than 1,900 Palestinians who had been held in Israeli jails were headed back to Gaza or the West Bank. President Donald Trump paid a whirlwind visit to the country, receiving a hero’s welcome and delivering a speech to the Knesset. On his drive from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he would’ve seen the Stars and Stripes flanking the country’s main highway, interspersed with the Israeli flags that typically hang from lampposts along the route. After a speech in which he hailed “the historic dawn of a new Middle East” (while also lobbying for a pardon for Netanyahu on corruption charges), Trump was back on Air Force One and headed to Egypt for a signing ceremony for the Gaza ceasefire. The crowd in Hostage Square on Monday reacts to news that a Red Cross convoy is on its way to pick up a second group of Israeli hostages. Photographer: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images The jubilation in Israel is palpable. “Thank you, Trump” chants were heard on Saturday night at the unofficially named “Hostage Square,” where hundreds of thousands gathered to hear US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump speak. The soaring hyperbole reached its height on Monday at the Knesset, where Speaker Amir Ohana pronounced: “Thousands of years from now, the Jewish people will remember you.” Reports from Gaza, meanwhile, indicate a mood that would be better described as relief. As people return to their homes, many—probably most—will find ruins from the two-year war that was triggered by the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and saw hundreds kidnapped and dragged into tunnels the terrorist group had dug beneath the coastal enclave. Buses carrying Palestinians released from Israeli prisons arrive outside the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Photographer: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images People on both sides of the intensely fortified border are asking the same question: Is the fighting really over? In his speech to the Knesset, Trump insisted it is. “This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope,” he said. For Palestinians, countless questions remain. Hundreds of thousands—perhaps more than a million—remain homeless. Gaza is still in the grip of famine and lacks any semblance of a modern health-care system. It’s unclear whether Hamas will really lay down its arms, and if it does, who will be in charge? Trump’s peace plan calls for a technocratic government overseen by a “Board of Peace” led by Trump and potentially former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but details are scarce. And in the West Bank, Israel’s settlement activity has ramped up since the start of the Hamas war, undermining the long-term viability of a Palestinian state. Still, for Israelis, at least, those questions are for the future. Today, 20 hostages who endured two years at the hands of Hamas are back home. WATCH: Hamas freed all remaining living Israeli hostages being held in the Gaza Strip. Oliver Crook reports from Jerusalem. FOLLOW: Bloomberg News has a live blog with all the developments of the day. THE HOSTAGES: Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who were taken from the Nova music festival, came home today. Here’s their story. OPINION: Bloomberg’s editorial board writes that “US pressure made the breakthrough possible. It will be just as vital to reaching a longer-lasting peace.” EXPLAINER: How the Israel-Hamas struggle began. LISTEN: Hear a playback of a live Q&A with Bloomberg journalists about what this fragile peace agreement means for the Middle East. |