LAVON, Israel (AP) — It was a day of joy and tears across Israel. Families, loved ones and friends waited anxiously as Hamas began releasing the last living hostages held captive for over two years in the Gaza Strip.

For the family of Alon Ohel it was day 738 since he was taken hostage.

Friends of the young music lover jumped to their feet, cheered, blew into shofars — traditional horns that announce glad tidings — and hugged each other when they saw his picture on a livestream among the seven hostages Hamas first released to the Red Cross on Monday morning.

“This is the best morning in my life. I just want to hug him,” Ohel’s cousin, Noam Rozen, 24, said before choking up.

The wait on a Galilee hilltop village

Hundreds had been packing the small community center of this hilltop villa

See Full Page