Autumn rain fell briefly on Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Thursday morning. Despite the clouds hanging gray and low over Israel’s coast, the mood was anything but dark.
As hostage families and their supporters finally allowed themselves to smile after two years of anguish, the new season’s downpour seemed to wash away at least some of the anger and pain that marked the war that broke out with Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel two years ago.
Assuming there is no eleventh-hour surprise that blows up the process, Israelis will welcome their 20 living hostages home, and see the return of most of the bodies of the 28 dead captives. The historic event is slated to unfold just ahead of the Simchat Torah holiday, the second anniversary of the attacks according to the Hebrew calendar.
If the deal moves ahead to its second phase, with Hamas replaced by an independent Palestinian governing body and credibly disarmed, this campaign will be remembered as one of Israel’s most complete victories, two years after its most deadly debacle. It was a long, bloody slog that frustrated both those on the left and right, but it will have met Israel’s war aims, and could lead to many more achievements for Israel in the future. Israel’s deterrence will be strengthened, its enemies badly weakened, and its confidence restored.
Published originally on October 9, 2025.
Read the entire article at the Times of Israel.
