Israelis gather in Tel Aviv awaiting release of hostages from Gaza

Hundreds of people gathered in the early hours of Monday at Tel Aviv’s “Hostages Square” to await the return of the last hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

A live stream by the Hostage Families Forum showed people sitting on yellow chairs symbolizing solidarity with the hostages and waving blue-and-white Israeli flags. The Times of Israel reported that the Palestinian militant group Hamas is expected to begin releasing the remaining living hostages at around 8 am (0500 GMT).

According to Israel, of the 48 hostages still in Gaza, 20 are believed to be alive.

The Hostage Families Forum plans to broadcast the hostages’ return on large screens and has urged the public to gather overnight at Hostages Square. Volunteers reportedly placed welcome banners in the streets near hospitals where the hostages are to be brought.

In a statement, the forum said: “The implementation of the agreement for the return of all the hostages is an event we have long hoped and prepared for since the very first days of the war.”

“Now before us lies a vital and shared mission: the rehabilitation of the released hostages, their families, the affected communities, and Israeli society as a whole,” it added.

The forum noted that full rehabilitation would only be possible when all hostages have returned – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for burial in Israel.

Israel’s military said it does not expect Hamas to deliver all 28 deceased hostages within the 72-hour timeframe agreed under the ceasefire, amid concerns that bodies may be missing in the largely destroyed Gaza Strip.

Under the agreement, Israel is set to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including up to 250 serving life sentences, in exchange for the final hostages.