Revealing the names of the first 3 Israeli hostages to be released under the ceasefire in Gaza

In the first weeks of the war, her mother He expressed his concern Israeli military operations in Gaza could endanger the hostages.

Rumi Gonen’s older sister, Yarden, He told the New York Times In February, I regularly went to a square in Tel Aviv where hostage families held vigils.

“None of us do anything related to our past lives,” she said.

Emily Damari

Al-Damari, who was 27 years old at the time of her arrest, was the only hostage of British nationality still being held. She was taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza In southern Israel it was One of her neighbors saw her in her own car. Driven by one of the gunmen, heading towards Gaza.

Ms. Damari grew up in Israel but has traveled to Britain frequently, according to her mother, British-born Mandy Damari, who was in Israel in December to speak with officials and media and to demand a hostage deal and ceasefire. She said that her daughter was shot and that she feared for her life. BBC says She welcomed threats from President-elect Donald J. Trump that there would be a “big push” if an agreement was not reached before his inauguration.

Last January, in January, the hostage was released from Gaza, Daphne EliakimShe told Israeli media that she and her younger sister were taken into Hamas’ underground tunnels, where they met other hostages, including Ms. Al-Damari.

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks, Mandy Damari spoke out It happened in Hyde Park In London, where she described her daughter as a football fan who enjoyed a drink and had “classic British humour, with a bit of Israeli chutzpah”.

Doron Steinbrecher

Ms. Steinbrecher, who was 30 when she was captured from her home on Kibbutz Kfar Azza, is a veterinary nurse with dual Romanian and Israeli citizenship. according to Israeli mediaShe was in contact with her family on the kibbutz when the gunmen attacked, telling her parents that they had smashed her windows and shot into her room.

“They have arrived, they have arrested me,” she said in a later voice message she sent to friends.

Last January, Hamas released a video of Ms. Steinbrecher and two other female captives, Daniela Gilboa and Karina Arif, in which they demanded their release.

Last March, on her thirty-first birthday Jewish News Syndicate She published an interview with her mother, Simona Steinbrecher, who said she looked pale and thin in the video. She said she was concerned that Ms. Steinbrecher was not getting the daily medication she needed, although she did not specify what that medication was.

“She’s a strong woman, but it’s terrible for her to be there,” Simona Steinbrecher said.