Emotions run high as freed Gaza hostages reunite with families

Powerful scenes of newly freed Gaza hostages finally reuniting with their families emerged Monday — an emotional culmination of two long years of war.

Eitan Mor, 25, was among the 20 living hostages that were ushered into a meeting room at the Re’im base where his father, Zvika Mor, could no longer wait and popped out of the door to give his son a hug.

Elated mother Efrat let out a yell upon seeing her son in flesh for the first time in 738 days, with a spectator heard sobbing in the background as both parents embraced Mor.

“Our beloved Eitan, how much we have waited for you, how much we have waited to finally see you after two years,” the parents said in a statement.

Einav Zangauker expressed the same joy as she ran to greet her son, Matan Zangauker, 25, as he stepped into the meeting room.

“My life, my life,” Einav yelled as she raced to hug and kiss her son, who greeted his mother with a bright smile and warm hug.

The crying mother could be seen heaping thanks and praise for her son’s safe return with tears in her eyes and cracks in her voice as she escorted him to a couch to continue talking.

“After two years of hell, today we begin a new chapter in our lives — one of healing and rehabilitation for Matan and for our family,” the Zangaukers said in a statement. “Matan has been gone for two years, and there is a long road ahead for him and for us.”

Similar reunions played out as the hostages began arriving at the military base with their tearful families rushing in to hug them the moment they entered the meeting rooms.

Evyatar David, 24, was seen flashing smiles with his parents around his arm, which stands in stark contrast with the last images of him released by Hamas earlier this year showing him emaciated and forced to dig his own grave inside a dark tunnel in Gaza.

After greeting his family and taking a breather inside the base, Matan Angrest, 22, called Israeli-American Keith Siegel, who has been advocating for his release since he was freed earlier this year.

Angrest and Siegel had been held together for a time by Hamas, with Siegel seen smiling in the video call at the sight of his old friend.

All 20 of the hostages freed by Hamas have been transported to hospitals in central Israel to undergo health evaluations for what they endured under Hamas captivity.

The bodies of four other hostages are also bound for Israel, with Hamas set to release the remaining corpses when they are located, a process officials warned could take days.

“Our struggle is not over. It will not end until the last hostage is located and returned for proper burial,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

“This is our moral obligation. Only then will the people of Israel be whole.”