Three hostages were released in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
The hostages, all women, were released into Red Cross custody in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, transferred to Israeli forces, and taken to meet their mothers, the Israeli military said.
Around 100 hostages, living and dead, are believed to still be held in Gaza, most of them captured in the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. . Thirty-three of them are scheduled to be released within the first six days. According to the agreement, during the week of the ceasefire, women soldiers and civilians, children, men over 50, and the wounded and sick will be included.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said in a social media discussion Sunday that the “vast majority” of the 33 hostages to be released during the first phase of the six-week ceasefire are alive.
A video released by the Israeli military showed the three hostages being reunited with their families at Israel’s Sheba Hospital.
One video shows one of the returned hostages, Romi Gonen, surrounded by his family as they tearfully comfort each other. Romi’s sister, Yaden Gonen, who has spent the past year traveling the world lobbying for his release, jumps up and down in the video as family members embrace. In another video, hostage Doron Steinbrecher, who was also released, weeps and hugs his loved ones.
Romi Gonen
Gonen was 23 years old when he was captured in a Hamas attack as he was returning home from the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. She said she was talking to her mother, Mayrav Gonen, at the time and told her that she had been shot and was bleeding.
Last February, Meirav Gonen released a recording of his last phone call with his daughter. She told Israeli news media that Romi was a strong and happy person who often went to raves.
In the early weeks of the war, the mother expressed concern that Israeli military operations in Gaza could put the hostages at risk.
Romi Gonen’s sister, Yarden, told The New York Times in February that she regularly went to the square in Tel Aviv where hostage families held wakes.
“None of us do things that have little to do with our past lives,” she said.
Emily Damali
Damali was 27 years old at the time of his capture and is the only British hostage still being held this month. She was taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azha in southern Israel and was seen by a neighbor heading to Gaza in her own car driven by militants.
Although Damari grew up in Israel, he frequently visited the UK, according to his British-born mother, Mandy Damali. Damari had traveled to Israel last month to meet with officials and the press and advocate for hostage security and a cease-fire agreement. She told the BBC that her daughter had been shot and that she feared for her life, and welcomed President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threat of “hell and hell” if no deal was reached. Ta. Inauguration ceremony.
Dafna Eliyakim, a hostage freed from Gaza last January, told Israeli news outlets that she and her sister were taken to underground Hamas tunnels, where they met other female hostages, including Damari. Ta.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks, Mandy Damali spoke at an event in London’s Hyde Park and said her daughter was a football fan, enjoyed drinks and was a “classic British” “Has a great sense of humor.” We added a few luxury items made in Israel. ”
On Sunday, Mandy Damari thanked “everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily during this horrific ordeal.” But she said in a statement that “for too many other families, the impossible wait continues.”
The Israeli military also released a photo of Emily Damali and her mother, which showed her missing two fingers on her left hand. Damali was shot in the hand on October 7, 2023.
doron steinbrecher
Steinbrecher, who was 30 years old when she was captured from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza, is a veterinary nurse with Romanian and Israeli nationality. According to Israeli news media, she contacted her family in the kibbutz when the militants attacked and told them that her parents had broken a window and fired shots into their room.
“They have arrived, they are taking me,” she said in a voice message sent to a friend afterward.
Last January, Hamas released a video clip pleading for the release of Steinbrecher and two other prisoners, Daniela Gilboa and Karina Aliyev.
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. She said she was concerned that Ms. Steinbrecher was not receiving the medication she needed each day, but did not say what it was.
“She’s a strong woman, but it’s awful to be there,” Simona Steinbrecher said.
On Sunday, Doron Steinbrecher’s family issued a statement celebrating her release, thanking the Israeli people and thanking Trump’s “tremendous involvement and support, which means so much to us.” ” he expressed his gratitude. The statement did not mention President Biden or Israeli leaders.
