Sawt Falasteen - Tears, joy in Israel as Hamas hands over first hostages

Many had come at sunrise, carrying pictures of the hostages and waving Israeli flags bearing a yellow ribbon, a symbol of the movement calling for the hostages' release.

Noga, who wore a badge that read "Last day", shared her pain and joy with AFP.

"I'm torn between emotion and sadness for those who won't be coming back," she says.

Hamas and its militant allies took hostage 251 people hostage into Gaza during the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack.

Many of them were released in earlier truces, but 47 people seized on October 7 remained in Gaza. Only 20 of them are alive.

Since that day, Noga has worn a small badge each day, counting the days of their captivity.

For the past two years, people have held frequent rallies and gatherings over the past two years on a Tel Aviv square that has become known as Hostages Square.

Over the months it has become the nerve centre of the campaign to free the hostages.

When the news broke that the first seven had been released, the square broke out in cheers and song.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main organisation representing relatives of captives, had called on people to gather at the site -- evoking the yellow ribbons.

As the war in the Gaza Strip has dragged on, the ribbons became ubiquitous in public spaces in Israel, from roundabouts to car door handles and stroller grips.

— 'Very moved' —

"Our struggle is not over. It will not end until the last hostage is located and returned for proper burial. This is our moral obligation. Only then will the people of Israel be whole," the forum said in a statement.

Emilie Moatti, a former Labour MP and one of the founders of the forum, told AFP she was "very moved", gesturing toward the crowd and struggling to hold back tears.

On giant screens, Israeli television channels broadcast footage from previous rallies at this same spot.

The song Habayta ("Homeward" in Hebrew), playing on a loop through the loudspeakers, resonated differently with the crowd on Monday, as for the first time in months wishes for the hostages' return were about to come true.

The song dates back to the 1980s and was originally dedicated to Israeli soldiers fighting in Lebanon.

The return to Israel of the hostages marks the first step in the ceasefire plan brokered by US President Donald Trump.

In exchange, Israel is due to free nearly 2,000 prisoners held in its jails, most of them Gazans detained since the start of the war.

S.AbuJamous--SF-PST