Delay in Hostage Release Causes Stress but Cannot Puncture Spirit
Last night we in Israel heard the first sigh of relief in 49 days with the release of thirteen hostages from Gaza. Scheduled for 4pm, the nation sat glued to their television sets - and waited - as thirteen innocent civilians - grandmothers, mothers and children, were transferred by Hamas to the Red Cross, where they were finally medically examined, including eye exams after 48 days underground, and eventually transferred to Egypt and back into Israel. It took longer than expected - but it did happen - and 13 Israelis, 10 Thai natives and one Filipino were returned to Israeli soil.
Today however was a completely different story. When I started writing at 11:05pm tonight, we were still waiting and wondering.
The deal made for this temporary ceasefire was that 50 Israeli hostages would be returned over four days, from yesterday until Monday, in groups of 12 and 13. After four days, if Hamas is willing to continue releasing ten hostages a day, an additional 24 hours of ceasefire will be added by Israel, up to a maximum of ten days. This could potentially mean 50 releases over the first four days, and 60 over the next six.
Tonight I decided to walk over to the museum area, which thanks to these tragedies since October 7th, has taken on the name "Hostage Square." This is where the families of the hostages have parked themselves, and where they are consistently surrounded by support. My senses were overwhelmed by what I found there. An enormous table stretches across the area, set for a Shabbat Friday night dinner for the 211 that remain in captivity. There are stages with live music, heaps of local and international press and a clock that marks the day count, hour count, minute count, down to the seconds that loved ones have been held captive underground.
Pictures of the kidnapped hostages are on signs and all around you, and families are happy to talk to you.
One lady opened her arms to me and said "Hug?" I was so thrilled by this, that it was only after hugging her and talking to her for a few minutes that I realized it was a hugging station! Her sign in Hebrew stated "Pinat Chibuk" - the Hug Corner! A man was dressed in a clown suit and held pictures up of Yahel Gani Shoham, age 3 and her 8-year old brother, Nave Shoham. He told me they were on tonight's list to be released. "But..." he said, and I nodded my understanding. The delay...
But I am ecstatic to report, at 12:09 am, that the Red Cross is transporting them as we speak, and in addition to the beautiful children above (the same as the man in the clown suit held up), is another miracle - Emily Hand, who just turned nine alone in captivity on November 17th, is one of the children returning. Her father, Thomas Hand, has yanked the world by its heartstrings after his initial interview with Clarissa Ward on CNN. His daughter had slept at a friend's house on October 6th which was what sealed her fate, and after days of not knowing where she was and considering the various horrific possibilities, he told CNN that when he got the news that she had been killed, his feeling was relief. "To imagine her in Gaza...what they do to you in Gaza....alone and terrified for weeks, months, years - death - was best."
Incredibly, Mr. Hand was to receive another call a few weeks later, stating that his daughter was actually alive in Gaza, a hostage after all, and tonight as we speak, and after fifty days apart, she is on her way back to him, to safety and to a country that deserves this moment.
#BRINGTHEMHOME
#BRINGTHEMHOMENOW
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