Military helicopters took the three men to a hospital in central Israel, where they were reunited with family members and given medical examinations.
During the Hamas raids on October 7, 2023, Yair Horn and his 37-year-old brother Eitan were kidnapped from a kibbutz. Eitan is still being held captive in Gaza.
In the hospital, Yair Horn was photographed with his mother and brother Amos, and he wrote “Eitan, you’re next” in a message.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, a US citizen, also got back together with his wife and discovered that he had a daughter who was one year old. When he was taken prisoner by Hamas in October 2023, his wife was eight months along with their third child.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced the release of the hostages, pointing out that Hamas had not complied.
Some of the liberated Palestinians were brought to the West Bank, while most were taken to Gaza. Crowds gathered to greet the ex-offenders in both locations.
Five of those released in the West Bank city of Ramallah were immediately brought to a hospital, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society informed the BBC.
According to Palestinian Red Crescent Society official Mohammad Faqih, “they all have chronic illnesses,” and one man had a shattered leg.
According to reports, the majority of the 36 Palestinians receiving life sentences would be moved to Egypt.
According to the most recent reports, Hamas is expected to release an additional 14 hostages under the ceasefire.
Israel claims that eight of them have died, therefore the first phase still calls for the repatriation of six living Israelis.
As part of an earlier agreement between Israel and Hamas, 141 hostages have already been released, including 24 foreigners and 81 Israelis.
On 7 October 2023, Hamas assaulted Israel, killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage to Gaza.
According to the health ministry headed by Hamas, this led to a huge Israeli military onslaught in Gaza that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians.