The TV images that were broadcast were followed by large parts of the world.
Surrounded by what seemed to be a chaotic crowd of mainly young men, many of them armed and masked, the three women were pushed between hands and cars. Only hours earlier, they had been told that their 15-month captivity was at an end, according to Israeli Keshet 12.
We were terrified at the transfer point, says one of them to the TV channel, in statements approved for publication by the Israeli military censors.
Separated
Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were the first hostages to be released since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect. On Sunday afternoon, they were handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas extremists in Gaza City, for further transport to Israel, where they were met by family members.
According to the women's first testimonies from their time in Gaza, they were initially held together, but were later separated. They were moved from place to place and spent most of their time underground, but also spent time in the area in southern Gaza that Israel has designated as a so-called "humanitarian zone".
I didn't think I would come home. I thought I would die in Gaza, says one of them according to Keshet 12.
Listening to the radio
All of them knew what had happened on October 7, 2023, when they were taken away in connection with the Hamas-terrorized attack on Israel, and that their families had survived. From time to time, they got to see TV and hear reports on the radio, including about the Israeli protests against the government's unwillingness to secure a hostage deal with Hamas.
We saw your struggle. We heard our families fighting for us, says one of the women.
Both Emily Damari and Romi Gonen were shot during the October 7 attack. They say they received medication and care during their captivity, but one of them had to undergo an operation without anesthesia.
On Saturday, four more female hostages are expected to be released from Gaza according to the agreement between Israel and Hamas. During the first phase of the ceasefire, which lasts for six weeks, a total of 33 Israelis will be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Phase one:
Lasts for six weeks, during which Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages.
Israel will release over 730 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, as well as over 1,100 who have been detained by the military in Gaza as part of the war.
Israel will make some initial military withdrawals from key areas in Gaza.
Much more aid and supplies will be allowed into the population.
Negotiations on the forms of the next phase will begin.
Phase two:
Hamas will release all remaining hostages who are still alive.
Israel will release more imprisoned Palestinians.
The Israeli military will begin a full withdrawal.
Phase three:
Hamas will hand over the remains of dead hostages.
A three-to-five-year reconstruction of Gaza will begin under international supervision.
Border crossings to the area will be opened.
