Free speech is under threat. It must be defended. If you agree, this is the time to join us. Enjoy a full year’s access to The Telegraph for £25. | | People watch a live broadcast of Israeli hostages released from Gaza in Hostages Square, Tel Aviv | The first Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas as part of the Gaza peace deal.
They are expected to be reunited with their families as you are reading this, ending their 737 days of captivity.
Donald Trump is scheduled to land in Tel Aviv at 7.20am, and on board Air Force One, he told reporters: “The war is over.”
Later today Mr Trump will join world leaders – including Sir Keir Starmer – in Egypt for a truce-signing ceremony and summit as the next phase of the peace plan now ramps up.
Follow our live blog here ➤  | Henry Bodkin, in Jerusalem Israel Correspondent | | People embraced and celebrated through the night and into the early hours of the morning | In Hostages Square, the crowd has built steadily overnight – praying, chanting, cheering at every image on the big screens of the 20 waiting families who feared this day would never come.
Israel is such an intimate society that it’s hard to run into anyone at this Tel Aviv landmark who does not have a personal connection to someone abducted on Oct 7.
Gideon Rosenberg – who must win the award for the most dedicated HR manager of all time – led the first march to Jerusalem in November 2023, demanding the release of his employee Avinatan Mor, an engineer at Nvidia, the AI company.
He has since led the weekly protests in Hostages Square, which, its organisers say, has kept the pressure on Israel’s government to prioritise returning the hostages ahead of continuing the war.
“I don’t know how I’ll feel when I see him come out,” Mr Rosenberg told The Telegraph. “It’s going to be so emotional. It will be a new life.”
Kama Lixemberg, 53, was here representing her friend, a cousin of hostage Eitan Mor, who is also slated to be released, possibly within minutes.
“Donald Trump gets the credit,” she said, holding back tears. “Him and Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu]. Together them and us, with our prayers got them out.”
Read more:
• Con Coughlin: Trump has done well, but past tragedies cast a pall over this peace ➤
• Trump: Gaza war is over ➤
• US ambassador to Israel: Labour ‘delusional’ for claiming UK was key player in peace deal ➤ |  | Ed Cumming | Today is the centenary of Margaret Thatcher’s birth. From a new edition of Charles Moore’s authoritative biography, to novelty ceramics at the Conservative party conference, the late leader is on everyone’s minds. For some, Baroness Thatcher is inextricably linked with the moniker “Iron Lady”, to others she will forever be “Milk Snatcher”.
To mark the day, I’ve considered the ways in which the prime minister against whom all others are measured changed Britain. Here are 17 fascinating consequences of her reign, some of which might surprise you. We have Margaret Thatcher to thank for the Eurostar and Sunday shopping, for instance.
Mrs Thatcher may not come to mind when watching football on Sky TV or picking up a pair of easy-reading spectacles in the supermarket, but it’s her you should praise (should you feel inclined). These and more are detailed in our wry guide. However, there is one innovation for which our first female PM is famously, but erroneously, credited. You’ll have to read on to find out what it is.
Read the full story here ➤ | | Kamal Ahmed Thatcher famously said ‘the facts of life are Conservative’. Voters no longer agree Continue reading ➤ David Blair The battle for the future of the world has begun Continue reading ➤ Tom Sharpe Is Trump right? Should the US Navy bring back the all-big-gun battleship again? Continue reading ➤ | Get full access. Unlock Britain’s best news app and our award-winning website. One year for £25. | | Davinia Taylor has swapped wine for wellness, becoming one of Britain’s boldest voices in biohacking. Her extreme routines have transformed her life and given her the body of a 20-year-old, even though she is in her forties. From ice baths and ketones to nose-taping and fatty coffee, this is how she did it.
Continue reading ➤ | | | North Sea oil and gas fields have benefited both the UK and Norway to the tune of billions of pounds over the past five decades. While the exploration of new fields has been banned by Labour in the name of net zero, however, our Scandinavian neighbour has no such qualms, granting dozens of new licences this year. Some industry experts argue that the UK is missing out on as many as seven billion barrels of oil annually. Continue reading ➤ | | | It is one of Britain’s great stately homes, remembered by millions as the setting for the classic TV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. But Castle Howard, in North Yorkshire, has also seen its share of real-life drama, including the shocking removal of its owner by his brother, Nicholas Howard. Now Nicholas has announced he is doing away with centuries of tradition and pitting his son against his sister and their cousins for the right to succeed him.
Continue reading ➤ | | | What’s your stance on shoes in the house? When should the milk go in your tea? Resident upper-crust columnist Sophia Money-Coutts thinks these are the questions prospective citizens should be made to answer in order to immigrate to Britain. Would you, upstanding Telegraph reader, pass her alternative citizenship test? Take it here and see just how British you really are. Continue reading ➤ | | | Ian Botham, David Coleman and Bill Beaumont during A Question of Sport’s heyday | | Those grizzled sporting comrades Ian Botham and Bill Beaumont have set up a new podcast, snappily titled Old Boys, New Balls. They spoke to Simon Briggs about the upcoming Ashes, the recent Lions tour, and how the BBC made “a pig’s ear” of their favourite TV show, A Question Of Sport. Continue reading ➤ | | | Over a lifetime, the average coffee drinker will spend £29,000 on their caffeine fix, according to a recent study from McDonald’s. Luckily, there are so many good deals around at the moment that, with a bit of organisation, you can get a coffee free of charge – or at least heavily discounted – every day of the week. Rachel Lacey explains how. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more articles I hope you will find helpful today: |  | Matt Pritchett | Hello,
This week, we have two elephants to caption. I’m excited to hear your thoughts.
We also have our winner from last week below.
Each time I scroll down the entries , I choose a caption and then look at the name. It is rare that there isn’t a funny entry from a man named Andy Shuttleworth – this one really made me chuckle and was very much in keeping with my own cartoon captions this week.
As always, I’ll be answering your questions on the Your Say page, so please enter some for me!
PS, for an inside look at what inspires my weekly cartoons, you can sign up for my personal subscriber-exclusive newsletter here. | Stand up for sitting down Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
Perhaps it is time for a sit-down protest at the National Gallery. That was the prevailing response from readers to news that the gallery is selling its traditional leather benches. The seating to be installed in their place will be made from oak.
For those fortunate enough to be based in central London, it may seem like a non-issue. They can hitch a bus or hop on the Underground at lunchtime and be comfortably ensconced at their desks (or on their sofas) by mid-afternoon.
But what of the intrepid visitors who have committed themselves to a full day of cultural enrichment, or who have already spent hours navigating the rail networks? Tim Dawson quite rightly pointed out: “One of the pleasures of a visit to the NG is (or was) the ability to sit comfortably, take the weight of one’s feet and contemplate the art.”
The justification for the sale – reportedly on the grounds of health and safety – also struck readers as weak. “The National Gallery needs to get rid of all those old paintings too,” wrote WA Clark. “What if one fell off a wall and hit someone?”
Others objected on aesthetic grounds. “The bland beige colour scheme which has been imposed in the Sainsbury Wing now makes its way into the heart of the gallery,” lamented Hamish Parker. “What an absolute tragedy, a very bad decision which the director will come to regret.”
As a frequent visitor to the gallery myself, I sympathise. Even if the current benches are not the most luxurious ever to exist, they suit the mood of the room as well as that of the weary visitor.
For some, the attachment ran deeper than that. Claire Aston related how one gentleman, for whom her grandmother was housekeeper, “would regularly go to the National Gallery, not far from his home, sit on one of the benches in front of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks, and fall asleep. His daughter would often receive phone calls from gallery staff asking if they should put him in a taxi and send him home.
“He frequently said he would happily die looking at that beautiful masterpiece, but as far as I know, in 1951, he died at home.”
Would you miss the benches if they were to bow out? And would you be tempted to bid for one to take home (11 are to be auctioned at an estimate of £1,200 each)?
Let me know here, or head to our Your Say page on the Telegraph app. | Plan your day with the telegraph | Set your alarm to catch up with journalists on the Your Say page and listen to their analysis on our latest podcasts.
| | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
The solution to yesterday’s clue was LEAN. Come back tomorrow for the answer to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here. | |
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