Op-Ed: Day 471 of the war

From hell to safety in a few frenzied seconds

This deal with Hamas will be a long, national rollercoaster ordeal — joy to dread, relief to horror. All the more reason to celebrate the release of Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher

David Horovitz

David Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel. He is the author of "Still Life with Bombers" (2004) and "A Little Too Close to God" (2000), and co-author of "Shalom Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin" (1996). He previously edited The Jerusalem Post (2004-2011) and The Jerusalem Report (1998-2004).

Red Cross Vehicles seen on their way to pick up three Israeli hostages -- Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher -- in the Gaza Strip on January 19, 2025; the three are handed over by Hamas to Red Cross officials in Gaza City; families celebrate; the hostages with IDF troops. (X / Al Jazeera; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law / IDF / Courtesy)

Four hundred and seventy-one days.

Four hundred and seventy-one days after they were dragged away into the dark underworld of Hamas captivity, where nobody knows what hell they endured, Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, emerged into the light on Sunday afternoon.

And they were not merely standing and walking but also, incredibly, in some of the very first clips and pictures, smiling.

Emily’s beaming face as she and her mother phoned their family, her bandaged left hand waving — two fingers missing from where she was shot on that worst of all days, October 7, 2023 — took the national breath away. (Hamas gunmen who burst into her home at Kibbutz Kfar Aza shot her dog, she has reportedly told her family and friends in her first conversations with them, and she was hit, too, as she tried to comfort her dying pet.)

Former hostage Emily Damari is seen on a video call with her family after meeting with her mother at an IDF facility near the Gaza border, January 19, 2025. Emily is seen with a bandaged hand. She lost two fingers after being shot by Hamas terrorists during the October 7, 2023 onslaught. (Courtesy)

And then, minutes later, the pictures of all three of these young women embracing their mothers surely moved many Israelis, and others all over the world who love this country and its people, to tears of joy and relief.

Romi cradled by her mother Meirav, a gracious, noble presence in innumerable television interviews through the many awful months:

Romi Gonen (right) and her mother, Meirav Leshem Gonen, embrace after Romi’s return from Hamas captivity, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

Emily and her mother, Mandy, during that first phone call with the rest of the family:

Emily Damari (right) and her mother, Mandy, hold a video call with family members after her return from Hamas captivity, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

And Doron, her face not visible, hand covering her eyes, her cheek against her mother Simona’s, hugging each other like they’ll never let go:

Doron Steinbrecher (right), embraces her mother Simona after returning from Hamas captivity, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

Fourteen months since the last deal with Hamas, fears have mounted inexorably for the almost 100 hostages still captive in Gaza.

The nation waited, month after month after month — blaming Hamas, blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, blaming both — for the agreement that never came.

It held its breath, after this new deal was finally reached, signed, approved and supposed to take effect, when Hamas delayed the release of the names of these first three to be freed.

And it watched with no little dread on Sunday afternoon when dozens of Hamas gunmen, hailed by a large cheering crowd, commandeered Gaza City’s Saraya Square for a wild, self-aggrandizing daylight ceremony before a vast global audience.

Hamas terrorists hand over hostages Doron Steinbrecher (center, in pink sweater), Emily Damari and Romi Gonen, abducted during the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners deal, in Gaza City, January 19, 2025 (Reuters)

But in a few frenzied seconds, it was done: Doron, Emily and Romi scrambled the five or so paces from one vehicle to another, one reality to another — from Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and thence to merciful Israeli safety.

Hamas terrorists hand over hostages Emily Damari (in green sweater), Doron Steinbrecher and Romi Gonen, abducted during the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as part of a ceasefire and a hostage-security prisoners deal, in Gaza City, January 19, 2025 (AFPTV / AFP)

The joy and relief are heartfelt and deep, but no, not overwhelming.

Because nobody can forget for a second that this first, six-week phase of the deal has only just begun. And given that not all of the 33 women, children and men to be freed in this so-called humanitarian phase are alive, there will be much that is terrible before it is over.

Because nobody can forget that the agreement comes at the price of the release of hundreds of the most dangerous terrorists, many, likely most, of whom have every intention of killing again.

Because nobody can forget that Hamas aims to use this deal, as it has always intended to use the hostages it seized, to enable its revival.

Because nobody can forget that 94 hostages are, unthinkably, still held captive in Gaza.

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