From the Liveblog of
Saturday, January 25, 2025
Tel Aviv municipal building lights up with word ‘heroes’ and ‘rock-on’ emoji to honor freed hostages
Tel Aviv sees its first hostage rallies since the release of seven female captives during the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal that went into effect Sunday.
The municipality building’s facade is lit up with the word “heroes,” welcoming home the four captive soldiers who were released today — the second release of the nascent deal’s 42-day first phase.
The word flashes intermittently with a graphic of a bandaged hand with the thumb, index finger and pinky outstretched, in honor of Hamas captivity survivor Emily Damari — one of three hostages released Sunday, who flashed the “rock-on” sign to supporters after arriving in Israel, revealing that she lost two fingers when terrorists shot her on October 7, 2023.
The Tel Aviv Municipality building in Israel lights up with the word “Heroines” alongside an image of Emily Damari's hand—a powerful symbol of the resilience and strength of Israeli women, as Emily, Doron, Romi, Liri, Karina, Naama, and Daniella have been released after enduring… pic.twitter.com/56GuXitPvn
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) January 25, 2025
A few blocks away from the municipality, at the Hostage Families Forum’s central rally on Hostages Square, Ayelet Samerano, mother of slain hostage Jonathan Samerano, hails the “infinite love” that hostage families have received.
Jonathan was snatched from the Re’im-area Nova music festival by an UNRWA social worker and murdered in Hamas captivity. His body and those of the other slain hostages will be released only in the hostage deal’s third phase. Some hostage families fear will the deal will collapse before that.
“Every hostage is an entire world,” says Ayelet Samerano, speaking to a crowd of hundreds.
“I shout from the bottom of my heart — there is no room for calculations,” she says. “Everyone [of the hostages] should be brought home, no matter who they are, where they are, or what their condition is.”
“The government of Israel and the entire Knesset — don’t stop the deal,” she says.
