It was an emotional day, long-awaited by many around the world, as the 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas were reunited with their families Monday. 

Hilary Levine and the American Jewish Committee Philadelphia have worked with the hostages’ loved ones since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, connecting them with lawmakers and diplomats, and pushing for their release.

“There’s this moment of exhale, and a moment of joy,” said Levine, the associate director at AJC. “The laughter, seeing the smiles, seeing the embraces, seeing the tears, there’s nothing that can really compare to it.”

On the other side of this long-running conflict, thousands lined the streets of Ramallah in the West Bank as Israel released more than 1,700 Palestinians being held without charges. Ahmet Tekelioglu, executive director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Philadelphia Chapter, called the coinciding moves a “positive step,” but one that should’ve happened long ago.

“It’s better late than never. But at the same time, we have community members here who have lost relatives,” he said.

The moves come as part of a Trump administration-brokered ceasefire to end the years-long war between Israel and Hamas. President Trump in Jerusalem Monday morning declared the war at an end and said now is the time for peace.

“We’re in a moment right now where anything is truly possible, and world leaders need to take advantage of this moment,” Levine said.

Despite her optimism, Levine noted there are immense challenges ahead to secure peace in a region of the world that has seen fighting for decades. The president’s plan includes a “Board of Peace” in Gaza, a “new international transitional body” that will temporarily govern the region. However, it’s not clear at this time who will sit on the board or what powers they will have.

Local advocates on Monday weighed in on exactly what they’d like to see in the immediate weeks and months ahead, though.

Levine said all deceased hostages’ bodies need to be returned to Israel and Hamas’ influence in the region should end.

“The focus has to be on Hamas’ complete disarmament and focusing on the governance of post-war Gaza,” Levine said.

Tekelioglu, meanwhile, said he wants to see an end of Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank. He also says there needs to be accountability for the Palestinian civilians killed in the war.

“We have humanized Israeli hostages, captives, as we should. But we have not extended the same to Palestinian people on the ground, dying,” Tekelioglu said. “If we are going to start respecting international law, if you are going to stop making excuses just for the State of Israel, and if you are going to start humanizing Palestinian people, that is what’s going to create some sort of success out of this process.”

As for how they feel in the early days of this ceasefire, each advocate took a different approach.

“I feel, and I think many feel, a greater sense of hope for the future than we’ve really felt in many years,” Levine said.

“I do not have too much faith in coalition or statesmen,” Tekelioglu said. “I have trust, though, that the arc of justice is long and it bends toward justice.”