‘He came out as a victor’: Freed hostage Omer Wenkert flies to hospital, meets loved ones

Footage shows Omer Wenkert flying with his parents Niva and Shai in an IDF helicopter on his way to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.

“Now it’s good!” he writes on a whiteboard. He waves and blows kisses to well-wishers waiting at the hospital as he lands.

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert flies with his parents Niva and Shai to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (IDF Spokesperson’s Office)

He arrives at the hospital as his siblings watch from the window. Wenkert is driven in a black van accompanied by IAF officers from the helicopter to the hospital buildings.

He walks through the hallways with his parents on either side. “He came out as a victor,” says his father. “My son came out as a victor from captivity. He defeated it.”

Omer is then reunited with his siblings in a tearful embrace, and he and his family joke about how his brother gained weight while he lost it.

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert flies with his parents Niva and Shai to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (IDF Spokesperson’s Office)

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert flies with his parents Niva and Shai to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (IDF Spokesperson’s Office)