After a month and a half of captivity, the nightmare ended late yesterday Saturday for 17 of the 216 hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the terrorist attack on October 7. Those released are 13 Israelis and 4 foreigners who were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza and who have already arrived in Israel. The Government has made their identities known: they are seven minors, an 18-year-old young man, five women and four men of Thai nationality.
Among them is Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13 years old, who has reunited with her uncle, with whom she has merged in a big hug. Most of the people the Islamist group has agreed to release in this second hostage exchange are minors, like Hila, whose mother remains kidnapped by Hamas.
Another of the emotional moments after the release of Hamas hostages involves the Israeli-Irish Emily Hand, who was initially believed to have died, and her father. "We are delighted to hug Emily again, but at the same time we remember Raya Rotem and all the hostages who have not yet returned," Hand's family said in a statement.
Another of the families that has managed to end 50 days of ordeal is that of Yoni Asher, who has been able to see and hug his children Aviv, 2 years old, Raz, 4 years old, and his wife, Doron.
In the last few hours, Maya Regev, 21, kidnapped along with her 18-year-old brother when they were trying to flee the Tribe of Nova music festival, attacked by Hamas fighters in the early hours of October 7, has also been released. A video posted on social media showed the two young men tied up in the back of a van. "I am very happy that Maya is about to join us. However, I am heartbroken that my son Itay is still a Hamas prisoner in Gaza," his mother Mirit said in a statement from the Hostage Families Forum.
Shiri Weiss, 53, and her daughter Noga (18) were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Be'eri. According to stories from her relatives, with whom Noga was in contact through WhatsApp messages during the assault, the young woman was hiding under a bed when her mother was captured, but she was finally discovered when she was trying to escape the smoke that invaded the house. . Her father, Ilan Weiss, was also taken hostage.
