However for a lot of households like Ohad’s — even for these whose family members had been launched — the enjoyment at their liberation was blended with profound disappointment for the greater than 200 others believed to nonetheless be in Gaza. Some households had been break up up, with girls and kids despatched residence as male family members remained behind — together with Abraham Munder, 78, Ohad’s grandfather.
“We’re happy, but we’re not celebrating. There are still other hostages in captivity,” Roy Zichri, Ohad’s brother, stated in a video assertion. “We need to keep up the struggle until all the hostages are freed — every last one,” he added.
Yaffa Adar, 85, had been captured in Nir Ozwas taken on a scooter towards the Gaza Strip by her captors in one of many assault’s most iconic pictures. She was freed on Friday, whereas considered one of her eight grandchildren, Tamir, continues to be being held in Gaza, in keeping with her household.
“One stone is now removed from our heart, but we are still missing parts of it,” stated Moran Aloni, whose sister and niece had been freed on Friday, however who nonetheless has a number of different family members held hostage in Gaza.
Prof. Gilat Livni, who’s overseeing the therapy of the returned little one hostages on the Schneider kids’s hospital, stated the 4 Israeli kids who had returned had been “overall in generally good condition” regardless of the trauma that they had been by.
“Both the mothers and the children are speaking, telling stories and sharing their experiences,” Professor Livni informed reporters, calling it “astonishing and emotional.”
However the returned hostages now require a chronic interval of bodily and psychological rehabilitation, stated Hagai Levine, a doctor who’s advising the households of hostages held captive in Gaza.
“It’s a long process of restoring a sense of trust, control, and functioning, after they were in a situation where they had no control over their fate,” stated Dr. Levine, including that most of the freed hostages had no residence to which to return, complicating their restoration.
Earlier than the momentary cease-fire, Hamas had freed 4 Israelis, citing “humanitarian reasons.” Dr. Levine met at the very least two of them: Judith Raanan, a twin Israeli-American citizen, and Yocheved Lifshitz.
“I was impressed by their ability not only to recover, but to offer help to other families,” Dr. Levine stated. “But the process is long, and there’s definitely trauma” to be handled, he added.
