JERUSALEM (AP) — Three hostages held by Hamas were released on Sunday after 471 days in captivity as part of a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. The gradual release of dozens of captives has been agreed upon in the coming weeks.
They were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza and then to the Israeli army. One of them has their left hand bandaged and, in a photograph later posted online by the military, it appears that two fingers from that hand have been lost.
The ceasefire and the release of the hostages have sparked hope and fear among Israelis. Many fear that the three-phase agreement may collapse before all hostages return, or that they may return in poor health. Others are concerned that the number of captives who have died may be higher than anticipated.
Around 250 people were kidnapped during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered 15 months of war. About 100 hostages still remain in Gaza, after the rest were released, rescued, or their bodies recovered.
Hours before Sunday's ceasefire, Israel announced that it had recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier who fell in the war with Hamas in 2014 and whose remains have been held by militants since then.
This is the story of the first three hostages who return to Israel
- Romi Gonen, 24 years old: was kidnapped at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. That morning, Gonen's mother, Merav, and her eldest daughter spent nearly five hours talking to Gonen while militants looted the venue. Gonen told her family that the roads blocked with abandoned cars made it impossible to escape and that she would seek refuge in some bushes. She then said words that continue to resonate in her mother's head every day. "Mom, I've been shot, they shot at the car, they shot at everyone... I'm injured and bleeding. Mom, I think I'm going to die," Romi recounted. According to Merav, Romi's last word during the call was a scream of "Mom!" as nearby gunshots and the shouts of the men drowned out everything else.
- Emily Damari, 28 years old: is a British-Israeli citizen kidnapped from her apartment in the Kfar Aza kibbutz, an agricultural village heavily affected by the Hamas assault. She lived in a small apartment in a sector for young adults, the part of the kibbutz closest to Gaza. Militants broke through the kibbutz's border fence and looted the sector. Her mother, Mandy, stated that Damari loves music, traveling, soccer, good food, karaoke, and hats. The Kfar Aza kibbutz said that Damari was often the "glue that held her close group of friends together" and was always organizing gatherings with friends around the best barbecue corner in the whole kibbutz.
- Doron Steinbrecher, 31 years old: is a veterinary nurse who loves animals and lives in Damari in the Kfar Aza kibbutz. Steinbrecher holds both Israeli and Romanian citizenship. At 10:20 a.m. on October 7, 2023, Steinbrecher called her mother. “Mom, I’m scared. I’m hiding under the bed and I can hear them trying to break into my apartment,” recalled her brother, Dor. She was able to send a voice message to her friends. “They have me! They have me! They have me!” during her moments of abduction. That message was key in helping her family understand that Doron had been kidnapped. Steinbrecher appeared in a video released by Hamas on January 26, 2024, along with two Israeli soldiers. Her brother said the video gave them hope that she was alive but they were worried because she looked tired, weak, and emaciated.