2025-10-13
18 分钟This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.
I'm Valerie Sanderson and at 13 hours GMT on Monday the 13th of October we're covering a major day of news in the Middle East.
All 20 of the living Israeli hostages,
those taken more than two years ago in the 7th of October attacks, have been released.
Palestinian prisoners and detainees around 2,000 in total are also being freed.
And President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have both spoken to the Israeli parliament,
celebrating what the US leader called the historic dawn of a new Middle East.
A monumental day for Israelis and Palestinians,
as people from both sides were handed over as part of President Trump's ceasefire deal.
The last 20 living hostages held by Hamas and Gaza are now back in Israel after more than two years in captivity.
In exchange for the hostages,
Israel is releasing 250 Palestinian prisoners and more than 1,700 detainees,
and the first groups have begun arriving in Gaza and the West Bank.
In Israel, there was jubilation.
Our correspondent Yulah Nel has spent the day in what's become known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
What we've been hearing has been about the hostages mainly focused on that with people tuned into the main Israeli TV channels and then it's been punctuated with music moments like this which are kind of moments of reflection.
It's the end of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and so families are together,
children are off school and you feel like People from all around Tel Aviv have gathered here.
It's become a natural meeting point over the past two years to get the news about the hostages.
And there were champagne corks popping at the time where the announcement came through that there were no more living hostages for Israel inside the Gaza Strip.