{"id":85478,"date":"2025-01-20T05:15:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T10:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=85478"},"modified":"2025-01-20T05:20:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T10:20:03","slug":"freed-hostages-reunited-with-families-after-471-days-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/freed-hostages-reunited-with-families-after-471-days-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Freed hostages reunited with families after 471 days in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By JNS STAFF<\/p>\n<p>(JNS.org) \u2013&nbsp;<\/span>Released hostages Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and Romi Gonen were reunited with their families at Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center in Ramat Gan on Sunday night after 471 in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_85479\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85479\" class=\"wp-image-85479 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471.jpg 1320w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85479\" class=\"wp-image-85479 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freed_hostages471.jpg 1320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-85479\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Hamas hostage Emily Damari, 28, is seen after her release at Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Jan. 19, 2024. (Photo by Maayan Toaf \/ GPO.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The three women were the first of the 33 captives expected to be freed during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas that went into effect earlier in the day. The women were handed over to the Israel Defense Forces by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross inside the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n<p>A Hamas propaganda clip released after the women left the terrorist group\u2019s control showed them being forced to accept bags of \u201cmementos\u201d from their time in captivity, including a Hamas \u201ccertificate of appreciation,\u201d as hundreds of Gaza civilians looked on.<\/p>\n<p>Following an initial medical examination at the reception point near the Gaza border and their subsequent transfer to hospital via helicopter, Tel Hashomer General Hospital Director Dr. Yael Frenkel Nir told local media that the women\u2019s physical condition was good enough to allow them to focus on reuniting with family members.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The condition of the released hostages \u201callows us to focus on the important thing, which is reuniting with their families, and to postpone delving into medical issues for a few hours,\u201d she stated. She added, \u201cWe are closely accompanying them and their families.\u201da<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media-oembed-video _video-youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"326245552\" title=\"\u05d5\u05d9\u05d3\u05d0\u05d5 \u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d5\u05df \u05de\u05e8\u05d2\u05e2\u05d9 \u05de\u05e4\u05d2\u05e9 \u05d4\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5\u05ea \u05e2\u05dd \u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05de\u05e9\u05e4\u05d7\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u05d4\u05df\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z_qELjvLED8?feature=oembed&amp;showinfo=0&amp;rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jns.org\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-12=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-31835130_125=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Hundreds of exhilarated Israelis were awaiting the return of the three hostages outside the hospital as the helicopters touched down.<\/p>\n<p>Damari\u2019s&nbsp;mother Mandy, a dual Israeli-U.K. national, shortly after her daughter\u2019s&nbsp;return thanked&nbsp;\u201ceveryone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal, and who never stopped saying her name. In Israel, Britain, the United States and&nbsp;around the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile&nbsp;Emily\u2019s&nbsp;nightmare in Gaza is over, for too many other families the impossible wait continues.&nbsp;Every last hostage must be released, and&nbsp;humanitarian aid must be provided&nbsp;to the hostages who are still waiting to come home.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Steinbrecher\u2019s&nbsp;family&nbsp;shared a statement expressing&nbsp;\u201cgratitude to everyone who supported and accompanied us along this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement went on to extend \u201ca&nbsp;special thank you to the people of Israel for their warm embrace, unwavering support and the strength they gave us during our darkest moments. We also extend our gratitude to President [Donald] Trump for his significant involvement and support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gonen recorded a voice message for residents of her hometown of Kfar Vradim in northern Israel, telling them,&nbsp;\u201cWith&nbsp;God\u2019s&nbsp;help, we will meet soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is Romi, who returned from captivity. Thank you to all of you,\u201d&nbsp;she stated.&nbsp;\u201cI&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;yet have a clue what you have done.&nbsp;I\u2019ve&nbsp;seen a&nbsp;tiny,&nbsp;tiny part, but&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;the best.&nbsp;I appreciate you more than anything, and I am sending you hugs and kisses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gonen, 24, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival after being shot on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, while Steinbrecher, 31, and Damari, 28, were taken from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Steinbrecher is a dual Israeli-Romanian citizen, while Damari also holds British citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>Israel has said that 25 of the 33 people on the list of hostages to&nbsp;be returned&nbsp;in the first stage of the renewed ceasefire deal are still alive. Ninety-four hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least one-third of whom are believed to be dead.<\/p>\n<p>The next group of hostages is set to be released on Saturday, a senior Hamas official told&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>&nbsp;on Sunday.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Freed%20hostages%20reunited%20with%20families%20after%20471%20days%20in%20Gaza\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":85479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[14334,14332,40,6630,8781,8790,8795,8788,11393,14330],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85478"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85478"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85482,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85478\/revisions\/85482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}