The 20 surviving hostages were released “after 738 agonizing days in captivity,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Palestinian militant group Hamas has released the last surviving hostages it was holding in Gaza, in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners, under the terms of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

President Trump got a standing ovation after addressing Israeli lawmakers following Hamas' release of all living hostages under the Gaza peace deal.

Twenty Israeli hostages were released in Gaza Oct. 13 as part of the initial phase of a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.

While major questions remain about the future of the region, the exchange of hostages and prisoners marked a key step toward ending the deadliest war ever between Israel and Hamas.

Medical teams at an Israeli hospital awaiting the arrival of hostages expected to be released from Gaza are "prepared for anything," Noa Eliakim Raz, head of the Returning Hostages Unit at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, told NBC News.

After more than two years in captivity, 20 hostages abducted during Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, are set to return to Israel.

After more than two years in captivity, Hamas is set to release all the living hostages, as well as the bodies of some of the deceased captives.