Israelis gathered outside the IDF’s Re’im base as the released hostages arrived to be reunited with their families.
(JNS)
Israelis gathered outside the IDF’s Re’im base on Monday to welcome the returning hostages as they arrived to be reunited with family members and undergo initial medical and psychological evaluations.
“I keep thinking about my father—how bleak it must have been for him in those tunnels as he was killed, and what he would think today. The unbearable contrast between all the celebrations we see here and the fact that it’s too late for him,” said Rotem Cooper, whose father, Amiram Cooper, was murdered in Hamas captivity.
“We weren’t there for him fast enough. That’s something that weighs heavily when you see all this joy,” Rotem told JNS.
“Nobody knows for sure about the hostages who are no longer with us,” he added. “There’s no information yet about who is coming back and when. We’ll find out throughout the day—it might take a few days until they’re identified.”
On Monday, Hamas returned all 20 remaining living hostages to Israel but handed over only four of the 28 bodies it held, a move the Hostages and Missing Families Forum called a “blatant breach” of the ceasefire agreement.
The four bodies are believed to be those of Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi and Daniel Perez, though they have not yet been positively identified.
Residents from nearby kibbutzim, families from across the country, and relatives of hostages gathered along Road 232 to share in the moment of joy as the convoy carrying the freed captives passed by.
“I’m here for every release,” Sharon Younger told JNS. “I live here in Kibbutz Magen, and this is the least we can do—to welcome the redeemed hostages. We fought for their return for a very long time. Finally, we can breathe a little.
“It gives a bit of hope, a bit of satisfaction,” she continued. “We have to bring them all back—not only the living but also the deceased. I returned here eight months after the war started; I had been evacuated to the Dead Sea. I won’t say I’m not afraid—it’s a process—but this is my home.”
Israeli and American flags waved in the wind as crowds sang and danced to songs including Habayta by Avremi Roth and Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva. Some handed out water and fruit, celebrating what many described as the first signs of closure since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 kidnapped.
“Today is a holiday—a day we’ve waited for for two years. It marks the beginning of healing,” said Eyal Halperin of Kibbutz Tze’elim. “We have very close friends, people we went to school with, whose families we know well—and they’re not coming back today.
“At the same time, it’s also the beginning of the end,” Halperin told JNS. “We did everything we could for them to return. We’re here to share in the joy, and afterward, we’ll keep going until everyone is home.”
Standing beside him was Shabtay Gabay, a grieving father from Kibbutz Re’im.
“This day is important for the families and the hostages, but for me, it also closes a circle,” Gabay told JNS. “I am a bereaved father—I lost my son, Yuval, who was murdered in Judea and Samaria on Oct. 7. Now, I can finally start to breathe and grieve for him, without the constant fear of hearing about yet another person killed, another family plunged into mourning.”
Many in the crowd held portraits of the returning hostages and wore T-shirts bearing their names and faces. Peleg Kirshinboim, wearing a shirt calling for the return of freed captive Alon Ohel, told JNS she came to witness “a moment of national healing.”
“Alon is a good friend of some of my close friends. I met him several times, and I’m waiting to see him come back,” said Kirshinboim. “It feels like the healing our country needs. We’ve been waiting for this for so long, and there’s nothing more moving.”
Originally from Modi’in, she moved three months ago to Ein Hashlosha in the Gaza Envelope. “It felt like the right way to help heal the country—and myself—after everything we’ve been through over the past two years.
“It’s an incredible community—the most amazing area in the country,” Kirshinboim continued. “I wasn’t here on Oct. 7, but there is fear, especially now that Gazans have returned to Khan Younis, which is very close to us.
“I hope we will recover as a country,” she said. “We’ll pick up the pieces and begin true reconstruction.”
Published on Tue, 14 Oct 2025 04:58:31 -0400. Original article link
Featured Image: Israelis gather along Road 232 by the IDF’s Re’im base to welcome home the freed hostages, Oct. 13, 2025. Photo by Amelie Botbol.
