Moving images: the three freed hostages reunite with their mothers

The three Israeli hostages released from the Gaza Strip by Hamas as part of the ceasefire agreement met their mothers in Israel, the Israeli army announced Sunday evening. They were then airlifted to hospital.

The three freed hostages “arrived at the reception point”, near Gaza, and “found their mothers”, indicates a military press release. The army later indicated that “three freed hostages had landed at the hospital (Sheba in Ramat Gan) with their mothers, where they will reunite with the rest of their family and receive medical care.”

The Army’s X account posted a photo of Emily Damari, one of the three ex-hostages, posing with her mother, Mandy Damari. The young British-Israeli, with a bandaged hand, smiles next to her.

“Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over,” Mandy Damari, the mother of one of the hostages, said earlier in a statement sent to AFP. However, she added that “while Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over, for too many other families, the impossible wait continues.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that the three freed hostages “went through hell,” according to a press release from his office.

In a telephone interview with Gal Hirsh, head of the hostage case in his office, Mr. Netanyahu said that the three young women had “gone through hell,” adding that they were coming “out of darkness into the light , from slavery to freedom.