'Time to return to life': Three freed hostages released from hospital after 4 days

Hundreds line up to greet Omri Miran, who is discharged along with Matan Zangauker and Matan Angrest; body of slain hostage Bipin Joshi said set for repatriation to Nepal next week

By Diana Bletter

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and ToI Staff 17 October 2025, 3:27 pm

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Freed hostages Matan Zangauker, Omri Miran and Matan Angrest were discharged from Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Center on Friday, four days after they were released from Hamas captivity after 738 days as part of the Gaza ceasefire.

They were sent home after completing the requisite medical examination and will continue being supported by hospital staff, Ichilov said, calling on the public and media to respect the families’ privacy.

The three were abducted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the Gaza war.

Miran, 48, who was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, was greeted by hundreds upon his arrival at Kibbutz Kramim, to which his wife Lishay and two young daughters Roni and Alma relocated due to the widespread destruction in Nahal Oz.

OMRI MIRAN IS FREE ???? pic.twitter.com/FvX4ejJDUl

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) October 17, 2025

“I’m here, but there are still people who have not received closure. There were memorials and funerals over the past week, and my heart is with everyone,” Miran told the crowd, adding that he “feels great.”

“Now is the time to return to life, return to family. Thank you to all the people of Israel,” he said.

עמרי מירן השתחרר היום מבית החולים והוא בדרך הביתה.
רגעי ההגעה של הרכב עם עמרי לקיבוץ כרמים (שם גרות כעת לישי והבנות) בנגב הצפוני

| צילום: תניא ציון וולדקס Tanya Zion-Waldoks pic.twitter.com/QM1gCmnPGA

— Restart Israel (@restart_israel) October 17, 2025

Miran, Zangauker and Angrest were among the last 20 living hostages held by Hamas, who were all released on Monday. Families of returned hostages have said their loved ones described torture, starvation and long periods of isolation in captivity.

Captivity survivor Omri Miran’s family in full formation – Omri, Lishay, Roni and Alma, spending time together at the beach.

Video credit : Eli Teichman and Shir Katz@N12News pic.twitter.com/3y2oFzVIjG

— Iris (@streetwize) October 17, 2025

Hamas has also returned nine bodies under the ceasefire. On Friday, thousands attended the funeral of slain hostage Inbar Haiman, whose remains were returned on Wednesday.

Released hostage Matan Angrest speaks with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir in the hospital on October 15, 2025, two days after his release from Hamas captivity. (IDF Spokesman)

The bodies of 19 slain hostages, including a soldier killed in the 2014 Gaza war, remain in the Strip. Israel has vowed to ramp up pressure on Hamas to return all the bodies, and accused the terror group of withholding bodies that it has access to, in violation of the ceasefire deal.

Einav Zangauker is reunited with her son, freed hostage Matan (L), after he was held in Gaza for over two years, in Re’im on October 13, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Meanwhile, the body of Nepali agriculture student Bipin Joshi, which was returned to Israel on Monday, will be repatriated to Joshi’s home country next week, the Kan public broadcaster reported Friday.

Bipin Joshi, a Nepali farming student, was taken captive from Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists. (Courtesy)

Kan said the repatriation was delayed because Joshi, who was abducted in Kibbutz Alumim and killed in captivity, was returned on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Simhat Torah. However, the Missing Persons Coordinator at the Prime Minister’s Office denied that this was why the repatriation process was not yet complete.

According to the coordinator, the process began immediately after Joshi’s remains were identified on Tuesday, during the holiday, and the body will be returned to Nepal once an airline is selected via government tender, which is near completion. A ceremony will be held in honor of Joshi at the airport in Israel before his remains are flown off, the coordinator said.

Meanwhile, Ilan Dalal, whose son Guy Gilboa-Dalal was among the 20 living hostages returned on Monday, told the Walla news site that Guy, who was abducted from the Re’im-area Nova music festival, may have suffered permanent hearing loss in captivity.

Guy Gilboa-Dalal at the hospital following his release from captivity on October 13, 2025. (Government Press Office)

“The doctors still don’t know if the hearing damage is reversible,” he said.

Guy is also suffering from digestive issues, various infections and severe vitamin deficiencies, said Dalal. Despite the challenges, he said, Guy is already dreaming of setting off on a sightseeing trip to Japan.

“If he travels there, it will be a family trip, we’ll all join him,” he said, adding that Guy’s return has left the family “happier than the day he was born.”