Netanyahu leaves ‘personal message’ for returning Israeli hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, wrote a personal warm welcome message to the living hostages who were freed Monday after spending over two years in Hamas captivity.

“In the name of God, the people of Israel! We love you! We stand with you, and we are with you. Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu,” the note, written in Hebrew, read.

The kits included clothing, a laptop computer, a cellphone, and a tablet.

Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were seen with Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, at the airport ahead of the president’s arrival.

Trump touched down at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv at about 9:43 a.m. as the first group of seven hostages crossed over into Israel. The remaining 13 living hostages are expected to be released to the Red Cross shortly.

The commander-in-chief emerged from Air Force One alone and was greeted by a military band playing for his arrival.

The president gazed out at the crowd, pumping his fist in the air to celebrate to occasion before descending the stairs.

Trump greeted Israeli President Isaac Herzog and shared a friendly moment with Netanyahu before speaking with US Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Israeli envoy Yechiel Leiter. He and Netanyahu then departed together for the Knesset in Jerusalem.

The president and his team brokered the landmark peace deal last week, in which Hamas agreed to release 20 surviving hostages and return the remains of 28 others — captives who endured more than two harrowing years in Gaza after being abducted from southern Israel during Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7, 2023 invasion.

Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israel are set to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.