After 738 days Hamas allows families to speak to hostages hour before release |

Ahead of their release, Hamas allowed several Israeli families to speak to their captive relatives for the first time in nearly two years. Footage released by mediators shows tearful video calls between hostages and their families, moments before the long-awaited exchange began under the U.S.-facilitated ceasefire deal. After 738 harrowing days, seven hostages, including Matan Angrest and the Berman brothers, have been freed and escorted out of Gaza by the Red Cross, before being handed over to IDF forces near the border. All twenty living hostages have now been released by Hamas as part of a major prisoner exchange involving over 1,900 Palestinian detainees. WATCH