Tears streamed down many faces at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Monday as all 20 of Israel's living Gaza hostages were released from captivity after over two years.
The emotion was palpable - not just the excitement and joy, but the pain and sadness and disbelief. And also pride: a majority of the people present had Israeli flags.
"I'm cautiously optimistic, everyone here is a little cautiously optimistic still," an Israeli woman told The Jerusalem Post. She said she has been present at Hostage Square for all the previous hostage releases.
While she does not know any of the hostages personally, she said it feels like she does.
"We feel like we all know everyone and their families and their stories."
The Post spoke to several teenage girls visiting from America, who happened to be in Israel on October 7, 2023, and spoke about how this feels like a full circle moment.
"We've been waiting two years for this moment, and now they're finally back," said one.
"I'm very excited, but I won't be settled until I hear that they're all back. It's like they're family."
Another of the girls said it is so much better being in Israel than in America at this moment: "In America, not everyone is appreciative of the fact that you're coming home, but you really feel it in the atmosphere here that everyone just wants them to. But not everyone in the world wants that, and that's a harsh reality. But here you really feel like you're a part of your family."
Excited but scared
"Excited but scared" was how another woman described how she was feeling. She noted that the fate of some of the hostages is still uncertain, and also stressed that the suffering of the families right now is "unimaginable."
She thanked Donald Trump for his efforts to secure the deal.
In fact, praise for Trump was one of the standouts of the first release. When the President's name was mentioned on the livestream, the crowd erupted into mass cheers and woops. Similarly, when Air Force One landed, the crowd cheered.
No love was lost for Israel's Prime Minister in Hostage Square: his name was met with boos and jeers, bar a group of about three women yelling "Bibi."
"Do they not know it's the wrong forum for that," whispered a man in front of me, echoing the general anti-Netanyahu sentiment at the square.