Maria Virginia Sy

Freed Israeli hostages cry as they hug loved ones for the first time

Article (news)

Reuters Wires

The three Israeli hostages - Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari - who were released by Hamas on Sunday (January 19) were in tears as they were welcomed by their families in a hospital. The women were tightly embraced by their smiling loved ones, many of whom have been campaigning since October 2023 for the release of hostages. The freed hostages were flown to a hospital in Tel Aviv in a helicopter. On Sunday afternoon, the Red Cross picked them up from central Gaza and then turned them over to the Israeli army. The women then met their mothers in a military facility, before being taken to the Sheba hospital. The release of the three women, the first of 33 hostages due to be freed from Gaza under phase one of the deal, is in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The hostages were taken in one of the most traumatic episodes in Israel&#x27;s history, when Hamas gunmen attacked a string of communities around the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 civilians and soldiers and abducting 251 hostages - men, women, children and elderly. (Production: Michaela Cabrera, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh)

The three Israeli hostages - Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari - who were released by Hamas on January 19, 2025 were in tears as they were welcomed by their families in a hospital.

The three Israeli hostages - Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari - who were released by Hamas on January 19, 2025 were in tears as they were welcomed by their families in a hospital.

Freed Israeli hostages cry as they hug loved ones for the first time

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Freed Israeli hostages cry as they hug loved ones for the first time

Reuters

Published January 20, 2025 12:46 PM PHT

Read More:

Israel-Hamas conflict

hostages

Israeli hostage

Tel Aviv

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