Statement Welcoming the Release of the Remaining 10/7 Hostages and the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement

October 13, 2025

The Simon Wiesenthal Center expresses profound relief and gratitude that all 20 surviving hostages have been released and returned home to Israel. We await the return of the 28 slain hostages whose bodies still remain in Gaza.

After more than two years of anguish, uncertainty, and prayer, the hostage families are finally reunited with their loved ones. Their courage, faith, and persistence have embodied the strength of the Israeli people and the human spirit itself. They refused to give up hope, even when much of the world looked away.

“We embrace our brothers and sisters on this long-awaited homecoming. We mourn those who did not return, victims of the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust, and we commit to preserving their memory,” said Jim Berk, Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO. “Since October 7, 2023, more than 900 Israeli soldiers have also fallen in battle, expanding the heavy burden of bereavement for the Jewish state and world Jewry. These bereft families and loved ones, too, are in our hearts today.”

For the past two years, the Israeli Defense Forces has fought in a highly complex urban environment against an enemy that sought to maximize Palestinian deaths even as the Israeli military dropped thousands of leaflets and made hundreds of thousands of phone calls in an attempt to separate innocent civilians from Hamas terrorists. Without the valor and sacrifices of the soldiers of the IDF, Hamas would never have agreed to this deal.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center also echoes the bipartisan recognition of U.S. President Donald Trump for his role in successfully brokering this ceasefire, bringing the release of our hostages and relief to Gaza’s civilian population.

“As the freed hostages return to their homes and communities, we are reminded of another generation liberated from unspeakable darkness,” Berk added. “Like the survivors of the camps who walked free in 1945, these men and women bear witness to what hatred can do when the world remains silent. The Jewish people have known captivity before; we have also known redemption.”

To the international community: This moment marks both an end and a beginning: the close of an agonizing chapter and the start of the long, difficult work of rebuilding lives, communities, and trust. As we start the path forward, we call on those who have previously excused Hamas's violence or dismissed Israel's suffering to join in fostering a path to peace and stability on both sides of this conflict.

Never again must mean never again, for anyone, anywhere.

For further information, please email Erik Simon at esimon@wiesenthal.com, Deborah Camiel at dcamiel@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your X feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).