Carrying her small daughter, an Israeli mother stood amid a crowd of people next to the helipad of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, which on Sunday received the three former hostages released in a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.
“How good is it that you’ve come home,” read a sign in Hebrew held by the young daughter.
The helicopters, which took off from southern Israel, near the Gaza border, carried Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari – the first of 33 hostages set for release during the first phase of the deal that went into effect Sunday morning.
The three women were kidnapped by Hamas during its attack on October 7, 2023, which killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 others captive.
Footage shared by the Israeli government shows the three women arriving at the hospital, draped in Israeli flags and embracing their families.
In exchange, Israel is expected to release 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including 69 women and nine minors, the youngest of them 15 years old.
Near the Sheba hospital, a group of Israelis played music and sang patriotic songs on Sunday night. As medical vehicles carried the hostages from helicopters to the medical facility, dozens chased the vans, chanting their names.
“Thank you, thank you,” one woman cried as she was embraced by another.
Earlier in the so-called Hostages Square in central Tel Aviv, a wave of applause overtook the plaza once the hostages were announced to be in the custody of the Red Cross.
People hugged, waved flags and cried at the news. For many Israelis, it was a moment they had dreamt of throughout the 15 months of war in Gaza.
“Romi is coming back! Emily is coming back! Doron is coming back!” a group chanted in the square.
Confirmation of the handover for the crowd came on a large television screen in the square, which was broadcasting Al Jazeera with Israeli commentary playing in the background.
‘Everybody is crying’
Among those waiting for the hostages’ release was 29-year-old Shay Dickman, who stood at the center of the square carrying banners of all three women. She is a cousin of Carmel Gat, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and killed in captivity. Another cousin of hers was released in the short-lived ceasefire-and-hostages deal of November 2023.
Tania Coen-Uzzielli, director of Tel Aviv Museum of Art, had been watching the square – where Israelis gather daily to express solidarity with the hostages – from her nearby museum every day.
She said that previously, she had sometimes felt that the return of the hostages was “wishful thinking.” Their release brings “unbelievable” emotions, she said.
Coen-Uzzielli said she could feel “the pulse” of the plaza every day, as it is right next to her museum.
“Everybody is crying,” she said.
Mai, another woman, who declined to give a second name, said, “We can breathe a little more again” after months of waiting. “And we are going to be here until the very last one comes back.”
The first phase of the agreement is expected to last six weeks, during which time 30 other hostages are to be gradually released.
The war has been devastating to Palestinians living in the besieged enclave. The military offensive launched by Israel in response to Hamas’ October 7 attacks has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians and injured 110,750 more, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The war has also displaced nearly all of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people, flattened swathes of the territory in an Israeli bombing campaign and triggered a spiraling humanitarian crisis.
Israel has not committed to ending the war, but has said it will take part in negotiations to progress the ceasefire to its next phases. Mediators in Cairo, including Egypt, Qatar and the United States, will monitor the implementation of the deal.
Coen-Uzzielli, the art museum director, said she hopes that the remaining hostages are freed and that the war finally comes to an end.
“I really hope that an international force will influence the ultimate decision to continue the release of the hostages and to stop this tragic war,” she said.