With the release of each Israeli hostage, fears only grow for those left behind

Naama Levy is reunited with her family after being freed from captivity
Naama Levy is reunited with her family after being freed from captivity - HAIM ZACH/GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE

As thousands of Israelis came to cheer the helicopter bringing back four female hostages from Gaza on Saturday, it was a bitter-sweet moment as the nation also mourned those left behind.

The hostages, Liri Albag, 19, Naama Levy, 20, Karina Ariev, 20, and Daniella Gilboa, 20, all soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces, were dressed in what appeared to be military uniforms for their return to freedom.

In a display not seen in previous hostage releases, the young women had been paraded on stage by their captors and forced to wave and smile before signing release papers.

At Beilinson Hospital near Tel Aviv, the four, who were kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base on the Gaza border on Oct 7 2023 wearing only their pyjamas, would be reunited with their families for the first time in 477 days.

Karina Ariev reunites with her family in the Reim region
Karina Ariev reunites with her family in the Reim region - Anadolu

But with the release of each hostage, the wait of the families and friends of those still held inside Gaza drags on for at least another week.

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The Telegraph spoke to Ada Levinski, who grew up in the same kibbutz as the oldest hostage still held in Gaza, Shlomo Mantzur, who will be 87 in March.

She said she feared for the life of her old friend, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kissufim.

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“Nobody has seen him, or heard from him,” she said from Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, where hundreds gathered to watch the handover of the hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza live-streamed on giant screens.

Born in Iraq, Mr Mantzur speaks Arabic. “It’s the only hope we have that it might help him,” Ms Levinski added, though there have been no signs of life since his abduction. “He’s very small and thin, we are very worried about his health,” she added.

While the crowds shed tears of joy for the release of the four young women, she admitted: “It’s impossible to be happy, even today.”

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With around 90 hostages still in Gaza, so many families still await news of their loved ones.

Relatives of Israeli hostages and their supporters gather with banners demanding that the Israeli government adhere to the ceasefire
Relatives of Israeli hostages and their supporters gather with banners demanding that the Israeli government adhere to the ceasefire
Liri Albag, accompanied by her parents on the helicopter bringing her from captivity, displays a placard saying 'I love you, the citizens of Israel, IDF soldiers and my family. I'm back.'
Liri Albag, accompanied by her parents on the helicopter bringing her from captivity, displays a placard saying ‘I love you, the citizens of Israel, IDF soldiers and my family. I’m back.’

Ron Hudai, the former mayor of Tel Aviv, told The Telegraph it was a bittersweet day. “I have conflicted emotions today. There is the joy of seeing the girls free but still there is a lot of work to do, we all still feel so much pain,” he said.

Gili Roman’s sister Yarden was part of the first wave of releases in November 2023. He was also at Hostage Square.

“I’m very excited and relieved to see this and super proud of our women who show so much strength in front of these vicious men who try to show them as exhibits,” he told The Telegraph.

“For those families still waiting, they are extremely nervous. But at the same time they can be hopeful as they saw that it’s still possible that they can be saved.”

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At the hospital, thousands turned out to see the arrival of the helicopter, waving Israeli flags and cheering “am Yisrael chai”– long live the people of Israel.

Dr Eytan Wirtheim, the director-general of the hospital, said he expects the four young women to be “quite well”, in spite of their horrific ordeal.

“More important than the physical will be the mental,” he told The Telegraph. “It’s a very huge change being a hostage with no control of your life to now having total control of it.”

Dr Wirtheim said many women released in the deal in November 2023 were still suffering the after-effects of their ordeal.

Danielle Gilboa arrives at Beilinson Hospital
Danielle Gilboa arrives at Beilinson Hospital - Matan Golan

“Some have difficulty going into large crowds or hearing loud noises so there may be many implications,” he said.

“It’s not just about being in prison, it’s being kidnapped, tortured at least mentally. It’s the worst situation for anyone not knowing if you’ll stay alive.”

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The four young women were released as 200 Palestinian terrorists were simultaneously released from Israeli jails. Israel signalled that it wanted to clamp down on any public displays of celebration over their release.

“Israel police isn’t going to allow any kind of support of, celebration or identification with terrorist organisations and are acting accordingly,” said Dean Elsdunne, the police spokesman.

Action was being taken around the country on Saturday to try to prevent scenes like those last week, when those greeting the released prisoners flew Hamas flags and sweets were given out in celebration.

However, photos showed that celebrations continued in the West Bank, with released prisoners being carried on the shoulders of jubilant supporters.

This month, Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, said that of the more than 1,000 terrorists released in 2011 in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held by Hamas in Gaza, 82 per cent went on to commit terrorist crimes again.

Israel is releasing 735 Palestinian terrorists in return for 33 hostages over the six weeks of phase one of the ceasefire, with families of their victims rightly concerned.

“The responsibility is on all of us,” Mr Elsdunne said.

‘A beautiful deal, a terrible deal’

Hillel Fuld lost his brother Ari six years ago in a stabbing attack. Khalil Yusef Ali Jabarin, who was 17 at the time of the killing, was convicted in January 2020 for the murder of Ari, 45, as well as for three attempted murders. He is on the list of those to be released.

“It’s a punch to the gut that he’s getting out, no question about it,” said Mr Fuld.

“But on the other hand it’s something we need to do, families need to see their loved ones again, and as a society we need to reassure our citizens and soldiers that nobody is left behind.

“So it’s a beautiful deal and a terrible deal at the same time, and those two things can coexist. This isn’t black and white, it’s a terrible deal, but it’s beautiful to watch those hostages come home.”

However, the future of the ceasefire once again looked fragile as Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said Hamas had “failed to meet its obligations to first release Israeli female civilian hostages as part of the agreement”.

The terrorist group failed to release Arbel Yehoud, an Israeli citizen kidnapped from Nir Oz, as well as Shiri Bibas and her two children, Kfir and Ariel, in Saturday’s handover.

The Bibas family, unaware if their loved ones are still alive, said: “Our world came crashing down. We hoped to see Shiri and the children on the list that was supposed to include civilians.”