‘We need everyone back home’ In Hostages Square as Israel waits for captives to return

The scenes of joyful reunion on Sunday night as the freed hostages Emily, Romi and Doron hugged their families in the safe environment of Tel Aviv’s Sheba Hospital came after a day of fear, despair and then growing excitement and relief.

At Hostages Square, the plaza in Tel Aviv that has become a rallying point for the families of those in captivity, people gathered to offer support and watch the news on big screens. During the day there was wintry sunshine, and people gathered around a piano to play music. One installation showed a makeshift tunnel, another marked the second birthday this weekend of Kfir Bibas, the youngest hostage. A chanukiah was festooned with yellow ribbons.

Hostage Square on the first day of the ceasefire (Photo: Amelie Botbol)[Missing Credit]

Tal Didi was just one of many Israelis who had come to show solidarity.

“I think that every citizen from every country around the world has to come here at least once, to try and understand more closely what happened to us,” she said. “To cry, hug, console and see this square, which has turned into a symbol. My heart brought me here, especially on this day.

The ceasefire was due to start at 8.30am, and Israeli troops had started to withdraw from Gaza. But Hamas failed to deliver the list of names of those who were going to be freed.

The war went on, with Israel unleashing an airstrike that killed more than a dozen in Gaza, and wounded more. For three hours it seemed as though the whole deal might be off.

In Hostages Square, Daniel Lifshitz was waiting for news about his grandfather, Oded, 84, one of the oldest held. “We are dealing with terrorists. They were supposed to send the names of the hostages to be released and they weren’t sent to Qatar,” he said.

“There will be very hard moments of excitement and of disappointment, a mix of feelings we have not felt before. We have been waiting for this nightmare to start to end.”

There was much news to digest. The resignation of far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and what that meant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. The IDF’s amazing recovery of the remains of soldier Oren Shaul, killed in battle in 2014 and held by Hamas ever since.

But then Hamas produced the three names: Emily Damari, the Israeli-British Spurs supporter, veterinary nurse Doron Steinbrecher and dancer Romi Gonen, who was abducted from the Nova music festival after a desperate attempt to escape. Still, though there was no confirmation that the three – or any of the hostages – would be returned alive.

“On a personal level, it’s very difficult,” said Lifshitz. “We ask ourselves whether we should prepare for a festival or a funeral. How can we prepare for both?” His grandmother, Oded’s wife Yocheved, was released from captivity two weeks after the October 7 attacks; “I went through hell,” she said at the time.

Supporters and relatives of hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Palestinian militants, react while watching a live television broadcast on the release of Israeli hostages, at the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, on January 19, 2025. The crowds in Tel Aviv's "Hostage Square" cheered and whooped with joy late on January 19 at the news that the first three hostages freed under the Gaza ceasefire deal had returned to Israel. (Photo by Menahem Kahana / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

Shay Gross had his own story of release from captivity. As a six-year-old child he was rescued during the IDF’s Operation Thunderbolt, the 1976 counter-terrorism raid in Entebbe, Uganda. In Hostages Square he was thinking about the rehabilitation that lay ahead of the released women. He had recently met a group of mental health professionals to help them understand the effects of captivity on a small child.

“When we were rescued from captivity in the heroic mission – 4,000 kilometres away from home – no one treated me, no one treated us, my parents went back to work and I was left with all the issues to deal with,” he explained.

“It’s very moving to be here. I could not go to work today, it’s very emotional. A lot of feelings and tears in my eyes. And if someone can understand what they will be going through when they come back, it’s me,” he added.

“We are going in the right direction,” said Eyal Calderon. His cousin Ofer Calderon, 53 is on the list of 33 hostages expected to be released in the first phase.

Ofer was supposed to be released in the November 2023 Israel-Hamas truce agreement, which the Palestinian terror group violated before its completion.

“The terrorists in the tunnel had told him he would be next.

"They prepared him and had him shave his beard but, as we know, it didn’t happen, we can only imagine the feeling when he heard that he was not going to be released and his disappointment,” said Eyal.

“I hope he knows that now it’s happening and that he is holding on. He just needs to survive a few more days or weeks and he will come to us. Then, we will have to see his physical and mental condition and take steps to help him recover. I just want him to hug him.”

Supporters and relatives of hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Palestinian militants, react while watching a live television broadcast on the release of Israeli hostages, at the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, on January 19, 2025. The crowds in Tel Aviv's "Hostage Square" cheered and whooped with joy late on January 19 at the news that the first three hostages freed under the Gaza ceasefire deal had returned to Israel. (Photo by Menahem Kahana / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

Harel Sharabi’s two uncles, Eli and Yossi Sharabi, were both kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.

Yossi was murdered in captivity, and Hamas is still holding his body, while Eli is slated to be released in the first phase of the latest agreement.

Eli’s wife Lianne, who is originally from the UK, and their two daughters were murdered by Hamas on October 7. “I’m waiting to tell him all the things we did, fighting for him like crazy. I’m waiting to see him smile,” Sharabi told the JC.

“We don’t know this officially but we suppose that he is alive. Actually, we don’t know anything. We are talking about plans to go to the hospital once he is released. I think we will be able to feel the grief more when he comes back.

“I’m excited on the one hand but also feel sorry for the families who won’t get to meet their loved ones. I am sad that we won’t yet get to bury my uncle Yossi.”

For others in Hostages Square there was the sadness of knowing that freedom is a distant dream. Yehuda Cohen will have to wait at least 16 days before negotiations begin on the second phase of the deal, to find out if there is any hope of his son, IDF soldier Nimrod Cohen, being released.

Nimrod was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists near Kibbutz Nirim on October 7, aged just 19. Among those waiting for him at home is his twin sister, Romi.

“The clock is ticking and time is against him,” Cohen told the JC.

“I am afraid that my fight will be in vain and that Nimrod will be murdered. I’d do anything to get my son back, I want him alive, not for burial,” he said. “I cherish life and we are fighting for life, the lives of the remaining hostages. Some of them are already lost. I want to make sure that Nimrod will be freed alive. Then we will start the physical and psychological reconstruction,” he added.

As night fell over the square, news developments from Gaza filtered into the crowd. The three women were handed to the Red Cross, surrounded by menacing armed Hamas guards who, bizarrely, handed them “goodie bags” and certificates.

“It’s very exhilarating to be here today. I can feel very closely what the families are feeling right now because I experienced it. It’s pure excitement,” said Gili Roman, the brother of former hostage Yarden Roman-Gat. Yarden was released after seven weeks in captivity and reunited with her husband and daughter.

“From our family experience, we know what it means to have a loved one return, but we also know what it means when a deal breaks apart and when a family member like ours, Carmel Gat, loses their life. I’m happy but there is a lot of anxiety that this will fall through,” he continued.

“We cannot let that happen. We managed to get to this place after 15 months. We have to make sure that all of them come back.”
As the three hostages landed in Israel, the crowds started to sing and cheer.

“It’s a mix of emotions. On the one hand, we are extremely happy and excited but on the other we are sad for many reasons,” said Inbar Goldstein, the sister-in-law of former captive Chen Almog-Goldstein, who was released along with three of her children in November 2023.

“Our family’s release was the beginning of our mourning for my brother and niece, who were killed on October 7. Also so many were left behind. We did not get full closure.”

The trauma caused by captivity, Goldstein explained, is compounded by the unknowns associated with returning to a new reality.

“The main challenge for our family was mourning and understanding what happened to the community of Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Sixty-four people were murdered. They had to come back to a community that no longer exists. They had to learn so many horrific details,” she said.

Goldstein also emphasised the guilt that captives feel knowing others were left behind.

“Today, we got three hostages back, they belong to a group of 97 hostages that we have responsibility to bring back. I think the families will find a way to be part of the fight, but it’s OK if it takes time”.

And even as Mandy Damari welcomed back her daughter – brave, smiling Emily, wrapped in an Israeli flag – she too had words for those still waiting for freedom.

“Emily is doing much better than any of us could ever have anticipated,” she said on Monday.

“I am also happy that during her release the world was given a glimpse of her feisty and charismatic personality. In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back.

“In this incredibly happy moment for our family, we must also remember that 94 other hostages still remain. The ceasefire must continue and every last hostage must be returned to their families.”