Overwhelmed with emotion, Palestinians poured into the streets of Gaza and the occupied West Bank to welcome home freed prisoners under a US-brokered ceasefire deal — a day marked by tears, cheers, and the bittersweet weight of loss and hope.

The prisoners were released after the Hamas militant group freed the last 20 living hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war in Gaza.

Under the deal, Israel is set to release 250 Palestinians convicted of murder and other serious crimes as well as 1,700 Palestinians detained in Gaza since the war began, 22 Palestinian minors, and the bodies of 360 militants.

Several thousand people gathered inside and around the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, awaiting the arrival of freed prisoners, with some waving Palestinian flags and others holding pictures of their relatives.

Fighting back tears, one woman who asked to be identified as Um Ahmed said she said that despite her joy at the release, she still had “mixed feelings” about the day.

Freed prisoners arrived in buses, some of them posing from the windows, flashing V-for-Victory signs. They will undergo medical checks at the facility.

Earlier, about a dozen masked and black-clad gunmen, members of Hamas’ armed wing, arrived at the hospital where a stage and chairs had been laid out to welcome returning Palestinian prisoners.

Loudspeakers blared songs celebrating the Palestinian national cause.

Hamas said 154 prisoners were also deported to Egypt.

During previous releases, mass gatherings had flooded entire streets in Ramallah, with people waving Palestinian flags as well as those of political factions including Hamas.

‘Live my life’

Dressed in the grey tracksuits of Israeli prisons, many prisoners also wore a black-and-white kuffiyeh around their necks — the traditional scarf that has become synonymous with the Palestinian cause.

Some of the newly released prisoners happily let themselves be carried away on relatives’ shoulders.

“Prisoners live on hope… Coming home, to our land, is worth all the gold in the world,” said one freed detainee, Samer al-Halabiyeh.

“God willing, peace will prevail, and the war on Gaza will stop,” Halabiyeh added.

“Now I just want to live my life.”

Journalists rushed to talk to the prisoners, but many declined to engage, sometimes explaining that before their release, they were advised not to speak.

In the south Gaza city of Khan Yunis, a crowd gathered near Nasser Hospital, in the hope of catching sight of the prisoners taken during the war with Israel.

In the afternoon, thousands cheered to welcome their loved ones as they caught glimpse of the buses carrying them home.

United States President Donald Trump on Monday addressed the Israeli parliament, following a peace deal he brokered to end the war in Gaza.

Here are 10 key takeaways from his address:

1. Gaza agreement dawn of a new Middle East

Trump was of the view that peace in Gaza ushered in the dawn of a new Middle East, saying that it ended the “long and painful nightmare” for all parties involved.

2. Offer to Iran for a peace deal

The US president expressed hope for a peace deal with Iran, saying his administration was ready for any agreement with the country.

3. Plan to disarm Hamas

The US president stated that the entire region has endorsed his plan to disarm Hamas.

4. Call on other nations to join Abraham Accords

Trump expressed hope that other countries would join the Abraham Accords quickly after the Gaza peace deal.

5. Acknowledgement of US help to Israel in Gaza war

“Israel, with our help, has won all that they can by force of arm[s],” the US president said.

6. Call for a pardon for Israeli PM

Trump called for a pardon for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been accused of corruption.

7. Muslim nations’ role in peace efforts

Terming the Gaza deal a triumph, the US president thanked mediators from the Arab and Muslim world for their crucial role in the peace efforts.

8. Role in the rebuilding of Gaza

Trump said that he intended to be a partner in the effort to rebuild Gaza.

9. Israeli lawmaker interrupts Trump’s speech

A left-wing lawmaker was expelled after he interrupted the US president’s speech to the Israeli parliament.

10. Time to focus on Russia

Trump told his envoy Steve Witkoff that “we’ve got to get Russia done” following the implementation of the Gaza peace deal.

Chaos briefly erupted inside Israel’s Knesset on Monday when two lawmakers interrupted US President Donald Trump’s speech — shouting for Palestine’s recognition before being dragged out by security.

Hadash Party leader Ayman Odeh and fellow MP Ofer Cassif were removed from the chamber after holding up signs reading “Recognise Palestine!” during Trump’s address, which celebrated the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal.

As the pair stood holding their placards, the Knesset speaker banged the gavel and ordered: “Expel this Knesset member!”

Security officials quickly surrounded the protesters and escorted them out as other lawmakers stood and applauded their removal.

“That was very efficient,” Trump quipped, before smoothly continuing his remarks about his envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Outside, Odeh defended his protest on X (formerly Twitter): “They removed me just because I raised the simplest demand — to recognise a Palestinian state. There are two peoples here, and neither is going anywhere.”

Cassif echoed the sentiment, writing that true peace “will only come with the end of the occupation and apartheid and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.”

Trump, the first US president since 2008 to address Israel’s parliament, had hailed a “historic dawn for the Middle East” moments before the disruption — marking the Gaza ceasefire and a major exchange of prisoners between Israel and Hamas as part of the peace deal.