Tel Aviv, Israel
CNN
—
Carrying her baby daughter, an Israeli mother stood among a crowd of people next to the heliport of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, which on Sunday received the three former hostages released as part of a ceasefire -fire and a hostage deal with Hamas.
“How good it is that you are home,” read a Hebrew sign held by the girl.
The helicopters, which took off from southern Israel near the Gaza border, were carrying Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari – the first of 33 hostages to be freed in the first phase of the deal which took effect on Sunday Morning.
The three women were kidnapped by Hamas during its October 7, 2023 attack, which killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 others captive.
Footage shared by the Israeli government shows the three women arriving at the hospital, draped in Israeli flags and hugging their families.
In exchange, Israel should release 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including 69 women and nine minors, the youngest of whom is 15 years old.
Near Sheba Hospital, a group of Israelis played music and sang patriotic songs Sunday evening. As medical vehicles transported the hostages from the helicopters to the medical center, dozens of people chased the vans, chanting their names.
“Thank you, thank you,” one woman shouted as she was embraced by another.
Earlier, at Hostages Square in central Tel Aviv, a wave of applause filled the square once it was announced that the hostages were in Red Cross custody.
People hugged each other, waved flags and cried at the news. For many Israelis, it was a moment they had dreamed of throughout the 15-month war in Gaza.
“Romi is coming back!” Emilie is back! Doron is back! » chanted a group in the square.
Confirmation of the handover to the crowd appeared on a large television screen in the square, which was broadcasting Al Jazeera with Israeli commentary in the background.
“Everyone is crying”
Among those waiting for the hostages to be released was Shay Dickman, 29, who stood in the center of the square, waving banners at the three women. She is the cousin of Carmel Gat, kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and killed in captivity. Another of his cousins was released as part of the short-lived November 2023 ceasefire and hostage agreement.
The three hostages “are on the verge of returning to our safe hands,” Dickman told CNN at Place des Otages, just minutes before their release was announced.
Tania Coen-Uzzielli, director of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, monitored the square – where Israelis gather daily to express solidarity with the hostages – from her nearby museum every day.
She said that previously she had sometimes felt that the hostages’ return was “wishful thinking.” Their release brings “incredible” emotions, she said.
“It’s a very emotional moment,” Coen-Uzzielli told CNN. “We have been waiting for this moment since the last release, over a year ago.”
Coen-Uzzielli said she can feel “the pulse” of the square every day because it’s right next to her museum.
“Everyone is crying,” she said.
Mai, another woman, who declined to give her second name, said: “We can breathe a little more again” after months of waiting. “And we will be here until the very last one returns.”
The first phase of the agreement is expected to last six weeks, during which another 30 hostages are to be gradually released.
The war has been devastating for Palestinians living in the besieged enclave. The military offensive launched by Israel in response to the Hamas attacks on October 7 killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians and injured 110,750 others, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The war has also displaced almost all of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million, razed swaths of the territory in an Israeli bombing campaign and triggered a growing humanitarian crisis.
Israel has not committed to ending the war, but has said it will participate in negotiations to advance the ceasefire to its next phases. Cairo mediators, including Egypt, Qatar and the United States, will monitor the agreement’s implementation.
In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Bianna Golodryga, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stressed Sunday that the agreed ceasefire was temporary, saying that “we will start negotiating on the second phase after a little more than two weeks during the transition period. first phase”, but added that “it is not automatic to move from one phase to the other”.
Coen-Uzzielli, the art museum director, said she hoped the remaining hostages would be freed and the war would finally end.
“I really hope that an international force will influence the final decision to pursue the release of the hostages and end this tragic war,” she said.