As the ceasefire holds, Gazans return to destroyed homes: The war between Israel and Hamas live
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 Gaza on Sunday and were handed over to Israeli forces, who took them to meet their mothers, the Israeli military said.
About 100 hostages, dead and alive, are still believed to be held in Gaza, most of them captured in the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Thirty-three of them will be freed during the initial six-week ceasefire phase, including female soldiers and civilians, children, men over the age of 50, and the sick and wounded, as agreed.
The “vast majority” of the 33 hostages to be freed in the six-week first phase of the truce are alive, Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said in a social media discussion on Sunday.
The video was released by the Israeli army showed the three hostages are reunited with their families at Sheba Hospital in Israel.
In one video, one of the returned hostages, Romi Gonen, is surrounded by her family members as they tearfully comfort each other. Yarden Gonen, her sister, who traveled the world last year to lobby for Roma’s release, jumps up and down in the video as the family embraces. In another video, another freed hostage, Doron Steinbrecher, tearfully hugs his loved ones.
Romi Gonen
Ms. Gonen was 23 when she was caught trying to leave New music festival in southern Israel when Hamas attacked. At the time, she spoke to her mother, Meirava Gonen, who said she had been shot and was bleeding.
Last February, Meirav Gonen released a video her last phone call with his daughter. She told the Israeli media that Romi is a strong and happy person who often goes to raves.
In the first weeks of the war, her mother expressed concern that Israeli military operations in Gaza could endanger the hostages.
Romi Gonen’s older sister, Yarden, he told The New York Times February that she regularly went to the square in Tel Aviv where the families of the hostages were watching.
“None of us are doing anything remotely related to our previous lives,” she said.
Emily Damaris
Ms Damari, 27 at the time of her capture, is the only hostage with British citizenship still in custody this month. She was taken from her home to Kibbutz Kfar Azza in southern Israel and was saw a neighbor in his own car, driven by a militant, 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 to officials and the media and plead for a hostage and cease-fire deal. She said that her daughter had been shot and that she feared for her life, speaking to the BBC that she welcomed President-elect Donald J. Trump’s threats that there would be “hell to pay” if no deal was reached by his inauguration.
Last January, a hostage who was released from Gaza, Dafna Elyakimshe told Israeli media that she and her younger sister were taken to Hamas underground tunnels, where they met other hostages, including Ms. Damari.
Ahead of the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks, Mandy Damari spoke at event in Hyde Park in London, where she described her daughter as a football fan who enjoyed a drink and had “a classic British sense of humour, with a bit of Israeli sass thrown in for good measure”.
On Sunday, Mandy Damari thanked “everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily during this horrible ordeal.” But, she said in a statement, “for too many other families, the impossible wait continues.”
The Israeli army also released a picture of Emily Damari and her mother, showing 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 years old when she was captured from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza, is a veterinary nurse with Romanian and Israeli citizenship. According to Israeli news mediashe was in contact with her family in the kibbutz when the militants attacked, telling her parents that they broke her windows and shot into her room.
“They’re here, they’ve got me,” she said in a later voice message to friends.
Last January, Hamas released a video clip of Ms. Steinbrecher and two other prisoners, Danielle Gilboa and Karina Ariev, pleading for their release.
Last March, on her 31st birthday, Jewish News Syndicate published an interview with her mother, Simona Steinbrecher, who said that she looked pale and thin in the video. She said she was concerned that Ms. Steinbrecher was not getting the daily medication she needed, although she did not specify what it was.
“She’s a strong woman, but it’s horrible to be there,” said Simona Steinbrecher.
On Sunday, Doron Steinbrecher’s family released a statement celebrating her release, thanking the people of Israel and expressing 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 leader.
