The Daily

The Israeli military said on Monday that it had received the 20 remaining living hostages released by Hamas under the terms of the cease-fire deal.Rachel Abrams speaks to families of those hostages, and to other Israelis, about the long-anticipated moment, and Isabel Kershner, a Times reporter who covers Israel and Palestine, discusses why the hostages have been such a crucial factor in efforts to end the war.Guest: Isabel Kershner, a reporter for The New York Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.Background reading: Read live coverage of the hostages’ return and prisoner swap.Why now? The lost chances to reach a hostage deal, and a cease-fire, months ago.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher