Three hostages were freed in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
The hostages, all women, were released into Red Cross custody in Gaza on Sunday and handed over to Israeli forces, who took them to meet their mothers, the Israeli military said.
About 100 hostages, alive and dead, are believed to still be held in Gaza, most of them taken in the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Thirty-three of them will be released during the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire. of fire, including military and civilian women, children, men over 50, and the sick and wounded, according to the agreement.
“The vast majority” of the 33 hostages to be freed in the first phase of the six-week truce are alive, Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Sunday in a social media discussion.
Video released by the Israeli military shows the three hostages being reunited with their families at Sheba Hospital in Israel.
In one clip, one of the returned hostages, Romi Gonen, is surrounded by family members as they tearfully comfort each other. Yarden Gonen, her sister, who has traveled the world over the past year to lobby for Romi’s release, jumps up and down in the video as the family hugs. In another clip, another freed hostage, Doron Steinbrecher, tearfully hugs his loved ones.
Romy Gonen
Ms Gonen was 23 when she was arrested as she tried to leave the Nova music festival in southern Israel when Hamas attacked. She was speaking at the time to her mother, Meirav Gonen, who said she had been shot and was bleeding.
Last February, Meirav Gonen released a recording of her last phone call with her daughter. He told Israeli media that Romi was a strong and happy person who often went to raves.
In the early weeks of the war, her mother expressed concern that Israeli military operations in Gaza could endanger the hostages.
Romi Gonen’s older sister, Yarden, told The New York Times in February that she regularly went to a square in Tel Aviv where families of hostages held vigils.
“None of us do anything remotely related to our past lives,” he said.
Emily Damari
Ms Damari, 27 at the time of her capture, is the only British hostage still being held this month. She was taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza in southern Israel and seen by a neighbor in her own car, driven by a fighter, heading towards Gaza.
Ms. Damari grew up in Israel but traveled frequently to Britain, according to her mother, British-born Mandy Damari, who was in Israel last month to speak with officials and the media and plead for a hostage and cease-and-desist deal. of fire. She said her daughter had been shot and feared for her life, telling the BBC she had welcomed threats from President-elect Donald J. Trump that there would be “hell to pay” if no deal was reached by him. inauguration.
Last January, a hostage freed from Gaza, Dafna Elyakim, told Israeli media that she and her younger sister had been taken to the Hamas underground tunnels, where they met other female hostages, including Ms. Damari.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks, Mandy Damari spoke at an event in London’s Hyde Park where she described her daughter as a football fan who enjoyed a drink and had “a classic British sense of humour, with an Israeli chutzpah thrown in for good measure.”
On Sunday, Mandy Damari thanked “everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrible ordeal.” But, he said in a statement, “for too many other families the impossible wait continues.”
The Israeli military also released a photo of Emily Damari and her mother that showed her missing two fingers on her left hand. Ms. Damari was shot in the hand on October 7, 2023.
Doron Steinbrecher
Ms. Steinbrecher, who was 30 when she was arrested from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza, is a veterinary nurse with Romanian and Israeli citizenship. According to Israeli media, she was in contact with her family at the kibbutz when the militants attacked, telling her parents that they broke her windows and shot into her room.
“They’ve arrived, they’ve got me,” he said in a subsequent voice message sent to friends.
Last January, Hamas released a video clip of Ms. Steinbrecher and two other captives, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, pleading for their release.
Last March, on her 31st birthday, the Jewish News Syndicate published an interview with her mother, Simona Steinbrecher, who said she looked pale and thin in the video. He said he was concerned that Ms. Steinbrecher was not taking the daily medication she needed, although she did not specify what that was.
“She’s a strong woman, but it’s terrible to be there,” said Simona Steinbrecher.
On Sunday, Doron Steinbrecher’s family issued a statement celebrating her release, which thanked the Israeli people and expressed gratitude to Mr. Trump “for his significant involvement and support, which meant so much to us.” The statement did not mention President Biden or any Israeli leaders.
