Hours after Israel and Hamas’ long-awaited ceasefire went into effect, Israelis on Sunday evening celebrated the return of the first wave of hostages from the Gaza Strip.
Many hope the hard-fought reprieve will usher in a permanent end to the fighting that has left more than 46,800 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, according to local health officials, and allow the rebuilding of the enclave, much of it reduced to ruins by ferocious Israeli airstrikes and shelling.
President Joe Biden in a celebratory speech said a ceasefire in Gaza was reached due to “the pressure Israel put on Hamas backed by the United States.
“Today, the guns in Gaza have gone silent, adding that the three hostages “appear to be in good health.”
Video shared by the Israeli military showed the young women climbing out of a Red Cross vehicle and smiling and hugging waiting Israeli forces and would be medically examined at a hospital near Tel Aviv.
The released hostages were all abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, in the Hamas-led terror attacks in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage.
The three women released were: Doron Steinbrecher, 31, a veterinary nurse taken from kibbutz Kfar Aza; Emily Damari, 28, a British Israeli citizen also taken from the kibbutz and a key figure in the kibbutz’s youth community; and Romi Gonen, 24, taken from the Nova Music Festival.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the relatives of captives, said Damari lost two fingers on Oct. 7.
Staff at Sheba Medical Center, where the hostages were brought, said they were given time to reunite with other family and friends at the hospital, and suggested none of the women required immediate medical procedures.
“I know, we all know, they have been through hell,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told military leaders. “They are emerging from darkness into light.”