I was in the Verizon store yesterday getting phones for my parents. While the store tech was working, I don’t know if he saw the tears in my eyes as I watched the first video of the hostages being reunited with their families.
I remember seeing the first reunion videos in late 2023 (when close to two months in captivity seemed like an eternity). Over 100 hostages came home then and we wept with joy. Nobody ever imagined that it would be more than a year before any of the others would be set free.
Romi, Emily and Doron had to wait 471 days in unimaginable conditions. Emily returned missing two fingers, but was able to make a joke out of it posting the “rock ‘n’ roll” sign in a social media post.
44 percent of Israelis were watching TV last night as the hostages were released! This is an unprecedented number and that doesn't even include those who were watching online. That just shows how every Israeli is deeply connected to the release of the hostages.
While the hostages look remarkably well, smiling, crying, greeting family, that doesn't tell the whole story. It's very easy to look at that and wrongly assume they are okay. They have been in captivity for 15 months and only in the coming weeks and months will they be able to get the treatment they need to deal with the trauma that they have endured.
Every hostage deals with trauma and freedom differently. Emily wrote on Instagram, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m the happiest in the world.” Her mother Mandy wrote, “I want to thank everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal, and who never stopped saying her name. In Israel, Britain, the United States, and around the world.”
However, the families continue to advocate for the release of all the hostages, “While Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over, for too many other families the impossible wait continues. Every last hostage must be released, and humanitarian aid must be provided to the hostages who are still waiting to come home.”
Emily’s friends were beyond ecstatic. A reporter came to interview them and ended up on the shoulders of one of her joyous friends. Most of you will not understand the Hebrew, but the sheer joy is infectious.
Doron’s family thanked the people of Israel and the incoming US president.
“A special thank you to the people of Israel for their warm embrace, unwavering support, and the strength they gave us during our darkest moments. We also extend our gratitude to [US] President[-elect Donald] Trump for his significant involvement and support, which meant so much to us. Our heroic Dodo, who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, begins her rehabilitation journey today. We will continue to stand with all the families and do everything in our power until all of their loved ones return home.”
Romi Gonen and Emily Damari were in captivity together. Emily told Romi’s mother (whom every Israel knows from her harrowing story of being on the phone with Romi when she was shot and taken in captivity), “You don’t understand what your daughter was to me all this time.”
In the moments leading up to their arrival back into Israel, terrifying images were released from Gaza. Hundreds if not thousands of Gazans surrounded the Red Cross vehicles. Unbelievably, Hamas gave each of the young women a gift bag and a certificate upon their departure. The vehicles taking the girls back to Israel had to pull right up to the vehicle that brought them to the meeting place to keep them from being mauled by onlookers, each with his cell phone, some with rifles.
Arab men surrounded the vehicles, Hamas operatives stood on the hood and the roof.
A Hamas terrorist stands on top of a Red Cross vehicle during the release of three Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip, January 19, 2025. (credit: SCREENSHOT/X, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)
The next group of hostages will be released next Saturday, as well as dozens of Palestinian prisoners. Innocent hostages are valued by Hamas as worth around 20 criminals.
Prayer Requests:
Pray that all the hostages will return home.
Pray that Hamas will never come back to power. While the present deal allows for that, President Trump’s envoy to Israel has said that it will not happen.
Continue to pray for Israel’s protection from Iran, the Houthis, and other bad actors.
And always pray that God will pour out his Spirit on Israel as he has promised (Zech 12:10).
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