Israeli politicians celebrate hostage releases

And, welcoming US President Trump to Israel, he added: “The Israeli people welcome you with so much love and so much gratitude!

“Thank you for all you have done to bring our hostages home! Thank you for your commitment to building a better future of peace in our region! God bless Israel! God bless America!”

Shas Chair Aryeh Deri wrote on X: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Our dear brothers, how long we have waited for you. Welcome home!”

And, in a statement from the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Finance Minister, who voted against the ceasefire deal in cabinet, said: “We receive them with joy, with open arms, and [give] thanks to the Master of the Universe.”

Likewise, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, another opponent of the agreement, quoted the Torah, saying: “And the children shall return to their border.”

However, some MKs, including a number from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s own Likud party, were less satisfied.

Amit Halevi MK said: “How moving these moments are — and how humiliating they are. Oh, how humiliating.”

He also advocated for Israeli occupation of Gaza, claiming Israel should have announced “to Hamas and to the whole world that the Jewish people will not forget or forgive until the complete annihilation of the neo-Nazis in Gaza and the restoration of Israeli control over this strip of our homeland”.

Elsewhere, Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock, from Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party, warned Trump of a “fake victory” and “fake peace".

"It’s important that you remain committed to the key principles of demilitarising Gaza, removing all threats from it toward Israel, and fully dismantling Hamas’ rule there,” she wrote on X, adding: "Don’t be tempted to believe that soldiers fought and paid with their lives only for the return of the hostages.”