Images and video of the first reunions between the first group of Israeli hostages released on Friday and their families has been released by the Schneider Children’s Hospital near Tel Aviv.
The hostages, all women and children, as old as 85 and as young as two years old, were released by the Palestinian Hamas terror group as part of a deal after being brutally kidnapped amid the murder of their relatives and neighbors in the October 7 terror attack.
Emilia Aloni, 6, reunites with family after nearly 7 weeks as a hostage held in captivity by the Palestinian terror group Hamas. (Schneider Children’s Hospital)
In one video released by the hospital, father Yoni Asher asks his daughter: “Did you think about Daddy? Did you think about good things?” She replies: “I dreamed about going home.” He replies: “Your dream came true! … Soon, we’re going home.”
In a statement (via the Jerusalem Post), Yoni Asher, who has been active in the movement to free the hostages, said:
My family, Doron, Raz, and Aviv, have returned home from captivity. I am determined to help my family recover from the trauma and the terrible loss we have endured, for the sake of the future of our children and Doron. We have challenging days ahead. I must express my gratitude and appreciation to our sons who have shown incredible resilience, to the IDF, the Israeli government, and the War Cabinet who are working tirelessly. Thank you to the wonderful people of Israel for their support. A big thank you to the Families of the Kidnapped who are working to bring them all back.
I am not celebrating, I will not celebrate until the last of the hostages returns. I want to emphasize that our children, our fathers, our mothers, our siblings are still in captivity at this moment. Some people’s hearts are broken right now, and I want to ensure that all the hostages return home. The families of the kidnapped are not just posters or slogans; they are real people, and the families of the kidnapped Israelis are my new family from today, and I will make sure that the last of the hostages returns home. Thank you all.
Israel agreed to pause fighting in the Gaza Strip in for four days, to release at least 150 convicted Palestinian terrorists, and to facilitate the transfer of additional fuel and supplies in return.
The Jerusalem Post reported that most of the freed hostages were in good physical condition, and had not been abused after the initial physical abuse of their capture, though they had to sleep on plastic benches. They received some news from Israel during their captivity, including news about the murder of their relatives in the October 7 terror attack.
Many of the first group of hostages were from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where a quarter of the population of 400 was murdered or kidnapped. 11 foreign nationals workers, including 10 Thai and one Filipino, were released along with the initial group of 13.
Ohad Monder, who turned 9 years old in captivity, is reunited with relatives after being held by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas for 49 days in Gaza. (Schneider Children’s Hospital)
A second group of 13 hostages is set to be released Saturday, reportedly mostly from Kibbutz Be’eri, where over 100 were murdered.
Hamas hopes to win international favor by portraying itself as a compassionate organization after holding civilian hostages, including elderly Holocaust survivors and babies, for 49 days (and more). Several hostages are known to have died in captivity. In many cases, Hamas is splitting families during the release, keeping the men and releasing only the women and children.
Update: In one released video, Keren Munder is seen learning that her father is still being held in captivity and was not murdered on October 7. Many hostages did not know the fate of fellow hostages, even when they were close family members.
Despite the involvement of President Joe Biden, no American citizens have yet been released from captivity by Hamas. There is speculation that Hamas will retain the Americans to create leverage for more pauses in the fighting to allow Hamas to survive.
Update: Israel’s Government Press Office has released additional photos of the transfer of the first group of hostages:
Freed hostage Ohad Munder, 9, plays with a Rubik’s cube that he was given aboard an IDF helicopter as he was transferred from Gaza to Israel, November 24, 2023 (Government Press Office)
Members of the Asher family (Doron, 34; Raz, 5; Aviv, 2) leave an IDF helicopter that transferred them during the hostage release, November 24, 2023 (Government Press Office)
The Asher family, reunited after the mother and daughters were held hostage by Hamas for 49 days (Government Press Office)
An IDF soldier escorts a freed hostage, November 24, 2023 (Government Press Office)
According to a relative of one of the hostages who spoke to Israel’s Army Radio, the hostages endured “very hard” conditions. They were moved back and forth between the tunnels and the outside, and were transferred from place to place many times. Many of them were apparently held separately from other hostages, so that there were not large groups of hostages. There were days in which they did not have enough food, and ate only pita bread. Many did not have changes of clothing, either.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.