Netanyahu says Israel can mark ‘day of joy’ if hostages return

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped Israel would mark a “day of national joy” starting on Monday night, when all living hostages and the bodies of those killed in Gaza are expected to return. Mr Netanyahu said he had promised the families of the hostages that he would bring them home, and that he is now “fulfilling that promise”. “It was not easy,” he said, adding that the captives will be returned “within days”.