Reunited with their daughter

January 30, 2025 by Pesach Benson
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The family of Agam Berger have greeted her on her return to Israel.

“Thank God we have reached this moment, and our hero Agam has returned to us after 482 days in enemy hands,” the family said. “Our daughter is strong, faithful, and brave. We want to thank the security forces and all the people of Israel for their support and prayers.”

The family’s statement added, “Now Agam and our family can begin the healing process, but the recovery will not be complete until all the hostages return home,” the family further noted.

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And meeting her parents…

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Berger, 21, was among seven female soldiers abducted from the army’s Nahal Oz outpost during Hamas’s October 7 attack.

Seven more hostages — two Israeli and five Thai — are being released today as well. Later in the day, Israel will release 110 imprisoned Palestinian terrorists.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced scenes of Palestinians mobbing the Red Cross convoy of hostages in Khan Yunis as “horrifying.”

It took one hour to transfer Gadi Moses and Arbel Yehud from a Palestinian Islamic Jihad vehicle to Red Cross vehicles, and another hour till the Red Cross was able to depart.

Hamas insisted on handing over the two on the grounds of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s demolished home. Hamas also insisted that Moses and Yehud make their way on foot the Red Cross vehicles, despite the distance and crowd.

“I view with great severity the horrifying scenes during the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “This is further proof of the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas terrorist organization. I demand that the mediators ensure that such horrific scenes do not occur again, and to guarantee the safety of our hostages.”

“Whoever dares to harm our hostages – may his blood be on his head,” Netanyahu added.

Two other hostages, Gadi Moses, 80, and Arbel Yahud, 29, both abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz in the Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, were shown hugging one another in the presence of masked gunmen in black uniforms in a video released by Hamas ally Islamic Jihad.

Yahud was later shown being handed over to the Red Cross surrounded by a surging crowd and armed Palestinian militants at the site of the bombed house in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis of Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar, who was killed by Israel.

Dozens of Hamas thronged the site in a potent reminder that Hamas, which Israel has vowed to obliterate, still has a strong presence in Gaza despite heavy bombardment from the Middle East’s most advanced military over more than 15 months.

The Palestinian prisoners, who include 30 minors and some members of Palestinian groups convicted for their involvement in deadly attacks in Israel, will be taken to the West Bank or Gaza later in the day.

Five Thai nationals among those abducted in the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel are also expected to be freed by militants in Gaza in a separate agreement, Israel and Hamas have said.

The hostages were expected to be taken to three different hospitals in Israel, though that could change depending on their immediate inspection from doctors upon arrival.

Israelis gathered in what has become known as Hostages Square, a central square in Tel Aviv, which has become the main location for efforts to campaign on behalf of hostages being held in Gaza, cheering and crying as they watched the release on a giant screen.

Around 1200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages were abducted in the Hamas attack in Israel, the bloodiest single attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

Around half the hostages were released the following month during the only previous truce, and others have been recovered dead or alive during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of Gazans, most replaced repeatedly during the conflict, have returned to their neighbourhoods in the north, where the fighting was most intense. Many have found their homes to be uninhabitable and basic goods in short supply.

Israel still lists 89 captives in Gaza, with around 30 declared dead.

In the course of the war triggered by the Hamas attack, Israel has killed leaders of Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, striking major blows against Iran’s network of proxies in the Middle East. The fall of Iran-backed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was also a boost for Israel.

Israeli forces have stepped up operations in another Palestinian territory, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect, saying they are targeting militants there.

With Reuters

 

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