The morning began with first testimonies from three freed hostages - Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher - revealing details of their 471-day captivity. Emily's account of losing fingers during capture and her dog being shot dominated early coverage.
By midday, Donald Trump's inauguration as 47th US president overshadowed other news, with his speech emphasizing peacemaking and referencing the hostage releases. Hamas initially attempted to delay the next phase of releases scheduled for Saturday but backtracked after Israeli pressure.
The evening turned violent in the West Bank, where settlers torched buildings in the Palestinian village of Funduk. The situation escalated when a police officer accidentally shot two masked Israelis, wounding them critically. These events occurred near where Staff Sergeant Avitar Ben-Yehuda was killed by an explosive device in the morning.