the essential
After three hours of delay in the publication of the names by Hamas, we now know who are the first three Israeli hostages who must be released this Sunday, January 19, 2025.
Their names are Romi, Doron, Emily, and the three of them have been going through hell for a year and a half. While Israel and Hamas announced the signing of a ceasefire agreement, which provides for the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian faction announced this Sunday on Telegram the names of the three women who should be released during the day.
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Romi Gonen, kidnapped at Nova music festival
Aged 23 at the time of the events, Romi Gonen was kidnapped on October 7, 2023 while attending the Nova music festival. That day, 364 participants were murdered by the terrorists. Romi is shot and injured. She is then kidnapped and will be held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, abducted at the kibbutz of Kfar Aza
Daron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari were both residents of Kfar Aza Kibbutz. On October 7, Hamas troops entered this collectivist village located in the north of the Negev desert, on the edge of the Gaza Strip, and murdered 46 of the 700 inhabitants of the kibbutz.
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Emily Damari, aged 28 and an Israeli-British citizen, was injured on October 7 by bullets flying from shrapnel. Last January, Dafna Elyajkim, a former freed hostage, claimed to have encountered her in the underground tunnels of the Gaza Strip.
Doron, aged 30, manages to call her mother Simona. The latter had confided to our colleagues at Reuters her distress. “It was terrible. I was nearby but I couldn't go and see because the whole area was infested with terrorists. I knew she was going to be kidnapped and I couldn't help her.”
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The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas sounds like a release for many hostage families. The attacks of October 7, 2023 caused the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis, including 37 children. 101 people are still held hostage in the Gaza Strip. Following these attacks, the Israeli army's response caused the deaths of more than 48,000 people, the majority of whom were women and children, according to figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health.
