Tears in Israel

At last! From hell straight into the arms of mom

Doron Steinbrecher in the arms of her mother

(Bild: Goverment Press Office)

The horror has come to an end! Three hostages were allowed to leave the Gaza Strip for Israel on Sunday. After 471 days in captivity, the women were able to hold their mothers in their arms again.

The three women, aged between 24 and 31, were initially handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday afternoon.

Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari were then taken from the Gaza Strip to Israel. At 5.59 pm local time, the army finally wrote on X: "They are home."

Thousands of people watched the handover and release on a screen at the hostage square in Tel Aviv. At the time of the successful announcement, relatives were also overcome with grief. According to the army, the families watched the return of the women at a secret location accompanied by soldiers. A video from the Israeli armed forces documented the surreal moment.

At 5.30 p.m., the three women were able to embrace their mothers again at an outpost after months of captivity. "After 471 days, Emily is finally home," said Mandy Damari in a statement released by the Forum of Hostage Families.

She wanted to thank everyone who had not stopped fighting for Emily during this terrible ordeal. Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher were also reunited with their loved ones.

Every single hostage must be freed and there must be humanitarian aid for those who were still waiting to come home. Damari asked for privacy for her daughter and her family.

Emily Damari lost two fingers during the kidnapping by Hamas. This was reported unanimously by several Israeli media outlets, citing Damari's family. Images from a video call between the 28-year-old and her mother and relatives also showed the young woman's bandaged hand.

Friends of Damari celebrated her release after more than 15 months in the hands of Hamas. One of them took a reporter from Israeli television on his shoulders and danced while she continued to report on the dramatic events.

94 people kidnapped from Israel are still being held in the Gaza Strip. In the next six weeks, the first phase of the deal, 30 more hostages are to be released. Another four abductees are to be released within a week. According to Hamas, the next handover is to take place next Saturday.

In return, it was agreed that Israel would release 1904 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for the 33 hostages.