On October 7, 2023, normalcy was forced to a halt in Israel and was replaced with tears of grief and despair on the faces of many citizens Over 1,200 Israelis died and around 250 individuals were taken away from their families and friends by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. 

 On January 24, 2025, 94 hostages remain in the hands of the terrorists. However, a deal has been made to set a certain amount of them free each week. 

The weekend of January 19, three hostages were set free from the cruel hands of Hamas,  returning to  Israel after almost  500 days in captivity. 

The first hostage, Romi Gonen, 24 years old, was an attendee of the Nova festival on October 7, where she spent an entire day and night dancing. On this day, the terrorists infiltrated a vibrant crowd of dancers and party goers, forcing families and friends to break apart without  knowing if they would ever see each other again. In Romi’s case, she was one of the few who didn’t know. For a year and a half, she lived with the idea that at any moment, a terrorist could decide to kill her once and for all. Simultaneously, however, she believed that her family was patiently waiting for her, knowing that she would eventually come home. And thankfully she was able to,  snugged in her favorite leopard print blanket with the help many campaigns, including an Instagram page which has now been transformed from “Bring Romi Back Home” to “Romi Gonen is Home” she managed to pull through and come out alive as one of the first hostages released in the long term deal to free them all. 

The second hostage to come home was Emily Damari, a 28-year-old  British-Israeli citizen who was captured in her own home. She was shot, lost two fingers on one of her hands, and also survived Hamas torture for almost 500 days. She was able to recently come home, demonstrating  her strength that helped her surivive her long-term captivity and her determination to see her loved ones again. Once home again, videos of her on the Israeli news channel appeared shortly after with her saying, “Dad I came home alive” with a tone of disbelief. Her courage is praised as her wounded hand is a sign of survival and bravery to the world. 

The third hostage, Doron Steinbrecher, 31 years old, was taken from her home near the Kfar Aza Kibbutz in the midst of hiding from the terrorists. According to the newly renamed “Doron is back home” Instagram page, the last audio recording she managed to send to her mom was “They’ve got me! They’ve got me!” This was the last time a word was exchanged between her and her mother, the last time she was heard by her mother, and the last time she was seen by her mother until after the 107 days of her captivity, during whichan image of her deteriorated state of being was posted. She persevered through the hundreds of days of torture and malnutrition, each day with the desperate hope to see her mom again—to be able to tell he

r how much she loves and misses her. Dressed in a pink sweatsuit and surrounded by terrorists, she eventually found her way back home to Israel and is currently with her family, deeply embraced.

Lastly, in 2014, Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul was in the midst of an operation in Gaza during which an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) got stuck. While attempting to free it, Hamas released anti-tank missiles, killing him and six other soldiers and leading to  him and Officer Hadar Goldin to be taken hostage. Unfortunately, only one managed to escape captivity. When the other three hostages were released, he was able to finally come home due to a special forces operation that allowed him to be be buried amongst his fellow brave soldiers in Israel. May he rest in peace.

Despite the great achievents of the three brave girls, there are still 94 hostages in Gaza waiting to be released, including one of our own: Edan Alexander. We hope that this week’s return will solidify the deal that was made because until everyone is home, this fight cannot and will not end.