Tens of thousands of people were gathering to join the families of the hostages at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square Saturday night, for a triumphant final weekly rally ahead of their expected release from Gaza in the coming days.
Under the banner “Thank you, people of Israel,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents most of the families of those abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023, said Saturday that they were calling on the entire public to join them in Tel Aviv.
The family members of a number of the hostages were set to speak at the rally, which was beginning at around 8:15 p.m.
Nova survivor and Israel’s entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this year, Yuval Raphael, was to perform the song “New Day Will Rise.”
US President Donald Trump’s top Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was set to address the rally, alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The two spearheaded US efforts to secure the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
In conjunction with the main rally in Tel Aviv, the forum said that parallel rallies would take place in Jerusalem, Sha’ar HaNegev Junction, and Karmei Gat.
“Now more than ever, our struggle is not over – and it will not end until the last hostage returns home,” the forum said in a statement.
“It is our shared responsibility, as the people of Israel, to ensure that the agreement is fully implemented,” the forum said.
In accordance with the first phase of the newly signed ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the terror group is set to free the remaining 48 hostages — some 20 living, at least 26 thought to be dead — by midday Monday. However, Hamas has said that it could take more time to locate and return the bodies of some of the deceased captives, and indicated that some may never be located.
Hamas agreed to release the hostages in exchange for some 2000 Palestinian prisoners, several hundred of whom were serving life sentences for terror convictions in Israeli jails, as well as a phased withdrawal of IDF troops from Gaza and guarantees from the US and mediators that Israel will not resume the war.
Since the agreement was signed late Thursday, Hostages Square, the site of hundreds of heated protests and somber rallies over the past two years of war, has seen a more jovial atmosphere as Israelis anticipate the imminent return of the final 48 hostages from Gaza.
Beginning Thursday morning, cautious optimism and euphoria pervaded Hostages Square, as relatives of hostages and their supporters filled the plaza both to celebrate and anticipate the deal that was announced in the early hours of the morning on Thursday, and ratified by the government in the evening.
On Friday, several hostages’ families hosted a Shabbat dinner in the central Tel Aviv square, which they said they hope will be the last one without their loved ones ahead of their expected release.
The meal was open to the public and was followed by singing and dancing in the square.
“Dear people of Israel – we need you now more than ever,” said Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, and a prominent figure in the protest movement. “Our struggle is not over until all 48 hostages are returned home.”
“We’re in a storm of emotions,” she added. “We’re anxious and know nothing beyond what you also know. We’re here to share, to be with you. Shabbat Shalom, we love you.”
Earlier Friday, Einav Zangauker went to Ben Gurion Airport to greet Ilana Gritzewsky, Matan’s partner and former hostage, as she returned to Israel following a trip to Washington, DC to advocate for her partner’s release.
The two were filmed running toward each other in the arrivals hall and embracing while weeping and celebrating the expected return of their loved one.
“It was the first time they saw each other since the deal was signed,” the forum said in a post on X, adding that it was the “first time in 735 days they cried tears of joy.”
“We did it. He’s coming home. They’re all coming home.”
Einav Zangauker came to the airport today. She waited for captivity survivor
Ilana Gritzewsky, Matan’s partner, who came back from Washington D.C.It was the first time they saw each other since the deal was signed. First…
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) October 10, 2025
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 48 hostages, including 47 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 26 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive, and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Among the bodies held by Hamas is an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.
