ANDREW LIMBONG, HOST:
Today, Hamas released the last living hostages taken from Israel after more than two years in captivity. And in return, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinians who'd been detained, hundreds of them without charge and others convicted of murder. To mark this day, President Trump traveled to Israel and told lawmakers there that, quote, "the hostages are back."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It is a good feeling. Isn't that nice to say? You know, I just said, the hostages - first time I said, the hostages are back. It sounds - it feels so good to say it.
LIMBONG: We're joined now by NPR correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai. And I want to note - we'll hear the sound of celebratory gunfire during this conversation. Aya, let's start with the scene from Israel today. Describe that for us.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Yeah. NPR has reporters across the region, and Daniel Estrin was in what's become known as Hostage Square in Tel Aviv early this morning, and he captured tens of thousands of Israelis cheering when the first hostages were handed over to the military.
(CHEERING)
BATRAWY: Daniel also spoke to Efrat Machikawa, an Israeli woman at the square who said she feels pure joy, but not full joy.
EFRAT MACHIKAWA: We have to remember those that might not be back as soon as we're hoping. But I think that there is something in our bodies that is telling us, be happy.
BATRAWY: Now, there are still 24 bodies of hostages in Gaza. Israel is sending an international task force to help search for those to bring them back for burial. But four other bodies were returned today in this exchange.
LIMBONG: Tell us what the scene was like in Gaza, where most of the more than 1,900 Palestinians released by Israel were returned to the territory.
BATRAWY: NPR's reporter, Anas Baba, was at the hospital in southern Gaza where families were gathering to welcome their sons and husbands back.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting in non-English language).
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
BATRAWY: That's the sound of celebrations around the release, but there were also tears among the prisoners.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Crying).
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: Andrew, some are finding out that they lost children or their families in Israeli attacks while they were in captivity. Most will have no homes to go back to. They'll be sleeping in tents. Anas spoke to several who said they were tortured by Israeli soldiers. He also saw what appeared to be visible signs of abuse on their bodies.
And Israel still holds thousands of Palestinians in its prisons, including an unknown number taken from Gaza. That includes Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. He's the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza that was destroyed by the military last December.
LIMBONG: Trump's plan for peace says this exchange of people in captivity marks the end of the war in Gaza, and we're going to get to the challenges ahead in a minute. But what did he have to say about that today?
BATRAWY: This war has been long and devastating. It claimed nearly 1,200 lives in Israel with the Hamas attack two years ago. And tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by Israel's military since in Gaza. But Trump says that's over now.
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TRUMP: So this long and difficult war has now ended. You know, some people say 3,000 years, some people say 500 years. Whatever it is, it's the granddaddy of them all.
BATRAWY: But then he went on to say Israel's security will no longer be threatened, and he said Hamas will be disarmed.
LIMBONG: After that speech, Trump headed straight to Egypt's Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he held what was dubbed a peace summit with the leaders of more than 20 countries. Tell us what that meeting was about and the challenges ahead now.
BATRAWY: This was an important summit. It brought together leaders from Europe, the Mid East and beyond. And it signaled that what comes next for Gaza will require international attention, including resources and boots on the ground. These countries had been pressing for a ceasefire for a while. But ultimately, it was Trump's intervention now that brought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree, and got Egypt and Qatar, the two mediators, to convince Hamas that releasing the hostages had Trump's guarantee of a permanent end to the war.
But what comes next is murky, and there is still a lot that needs to be worked out. Gaza needs tons of humanitarian aid, reconstruction, and Israeli forces still control more than half of Gaza's territory. But the president's presence today in Israel and Egypt is a message that he intends to see his plan through. Trump says this isn't only about Gaza. It's about the, quote, "new beginning for an entire beautiful Middle East."
LIMBONG: That's NPR's Aya Batrawy. Thanks so much.
BATRAWY: Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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