Former hostage Omer Wenkert thanks the crowd as he returns to his home in Gedera, March 4, 2025. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)
Captivity survivor Eliya Cohen leaves Petah Tikva’s Beilinson Hospital, 10 days after he was released by the Hamas terror group where he was held for 505 days.
The medical center says Cohen has undergone all the necessary examinations, and he will start a home rehabilitation process.
אלי-ה כהן שוחרר מבית החולים בילינסון ויחל בתהליך שיקום יום. מוקדם יותר שוחרר גם פדוי השבי עומר ונקרט, וטל שהם הגיע לפרידה המחלקתית@Nov_reuveny (צילום: דוברות בילינסון) pic.twitter.com/gasI8nEd0e
Omer Wenkert, who was freed on the same day as Cohen, was also discharged from the hospital today and returned to his home in Gedera, where he was welcomed by a cheering crowd of thousands.
Wenkert thanked the crowd and sang a song he said had kept his spirits up while in captivity. He then wrapped himself in an Israeli flag, kissed the mezuzah of his home, and entered his home where he embraced his family and close friends.
“I’ve dreamt about this day for more than 500 days. It has come. I’m happy I didn’t stop believing,” he said, adding that he will join the struggle to release the rest of the hostages, including his good friends Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal.
People welcome former hostage Omer Wenkert as he returns to his home in Gedera, March 4, 2025. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)Former hostage Omer Wenkert thanks the crowd as he returns to his home in Gedera, March 4, 2025. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel