Return and reunion with families of four soldiers brings bittersweet joy and relief after 15-month hostage ordeal• Middle East crisis – live updates
. In footage from that day, an armed man dragged the barefoot and bleeding soldier out of the back of a Jeep on to a street in Gaza. Her arms were tied behind her back and blood pooled in the seat of her pajamas. Onlookers cheered at her distress.had noticed unusual practice raids and drills taking place on the other side of the fence, but their reports and warnings were ignored by commanders.
When the Israeli news showed the four soldiers reuniting with their families on Saturday afternoon, Hostages Square in central Tel Aviv erupted, the crowd clapping, cheering and hugging each other. In a show of force, Hamas dressed the four soldiers in khaki uniforms for a highly choreographed ceremony on a stage in a square in central Gaza City. The women were surrounded by elite Nukhba fighters, and cheering crowds throwing confetti, before they were handed over to the Red Cross.
Many hostage families are still grappling with the fact their loved ones, not among the 33 scheduled for release, are still in danger, or perhaps dead, giving Saturday’s gathering at Hostages Square a sad undertone.in the Hamas attack. Her sister-in-law Chen Almog-Goldstein, niece Agam, 18, and nephews Gal, 12, and Tal, 10, were kidnapped and released during the previous ceasefire in November 2023, which collapsed after a week.
Yehud’s brother Dolev was killed in the 7 October attack on their homes in kibbutz Nir Oz, and her partner, Ariel Cunio, is also still a hostage, who should be released in the second stage of the deal in March. Several reports emerged on Saturday that people who had tried to approach the coastal road through Netzarim were shot at; there was no immediate confirmation of casualties, but similar scenes played out in the southern city of Rafah this week, where Israeli forces are still stationed on the Gaza-Egypt border.
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