TEL AVIV — Three hostages, including one who survived the brutal Nova music festival massacre during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, have been freed after the Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal went into effect following hours of uncertainty.
Romi Gonen, 23, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 30, were handed over to the Israel Defense Forces by the Red Cross on Sunday after 471 days in captivity.
Earlier, Hamas terrorists transferred the women to the aid group’s trucks during a chaotic scene in Gaza.
In Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, hundreds of Israelis sobbed and cheered to support the women’s families at a rally held by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
“Romi is coming back! Emily is coming back! Doron is coming back!” the crowd could be heard chanting.
Clay Richmond, a Texan volunteering for the Jewish National Fund, told The Post that everyone was thrilled at the news and overwhelmed with emotion as the 42-day cease-fire and hostage exchange brings hope of lasting peace to the war torn region.
“It’s very emotional to be here to see the people excited about the release of more hostages,” Richmond said. “I’m moved by the perseverance and love for one another and the hope and release for all hostages”
“I see a hope for peace,” he added.
Hany Nachmany, a teacher who taught Romi 10 years ago, echoed the jubilatory sensation in the air when news broke that the hostages were successfully taken in by the IDF.
“I’m very excited. I’m sure that she will recover and be okay,” Nachmany said, carrying Romi’s missing poster.
There are still 57 living hostages left in Gaza; 30 more hostages, including two Americans, are set to be freed in the first phase of the cease-fire agreement.
In exchange for the three hostages’ freedom, which was delayed by nearly eight hours, Israel released 90 Palestinian convicts, including women and minors, from Israeli prisons.
Gonen, 23, was shot in the arm and abducted by Hamas terrorists at the Nova music festival, where the terror group massacred 364 people.
Her family, who has advocated for her release, described her as “one of the funniest girls I know,” who is beloved by her friends and customers at the high-end Tel Aviv restaurant she waitresses at.
Damari, a dual UK citizen, and Steinbrecher were both kidnapped from their homes in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Damari is the only British hostage still in captivity.
Incoming-President Donald Trump, who has taken credit for the hostage exchange deal, celebrated the news of the women’s scheduled release earlier on Sunday.
Here’s how the proposed three phases would work out, according to a current draft obtained by news outlets:
Phase 1
- The first phase will halt fighting for 42 days with 33 Israeli hostages incrementally freed from captivity in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
- There are 97 hostages – civilians and soldiers – in captivity, but only 60 are thought to be alive.
- On the first day of cease-fire, now set for Sunday, Hamas will release three hostages, then another four on the seventh day. After that, there will be weekly releases during the initial six-week period.
- Israel will let 30 Palestinian women, children and elderly imprisoned go in exchange for every civilian hostage freed from Gaza. For every female Israeli soldier released, the Jewish state will deliver 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 facing life sentences.
- For bodies returned to Israel, all Palestinian women and children detained from Gaza by Israel since the war started on Oct. 7, 2023 will be released. Meanwhile, Israeli forces will pull back into a buffer zone in Gaza and near the Israeli border that will allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in Gaza City and northern Gaza.
- About 600 trucks of humanitarian aid will flow in Gaza daily during the cease-fire, including 50 of them carrying fuel.
- Negotiations over second phase of the agreement will start on the 16th day of the first phase.
Phase 2
- If Israel and Hamas reach a further agreement, all remaining hostages are supposed to be freed and in return Israel will completely withdraw from Gaza during this phase.
- Reaching that next step could prove difficult, because Israel has said it won’t relent to a total withdrawal until the terror organization’s military and political power is wiped out.
- Hamas has said it won’t release the last hostages until all Israeli troops leave. Hamas needs to agree to remove itself from power — something it has hinted it is willing to do — but could still be a factor in a future government, which Israel does not want.
- While the draft agreement states a second phase deal must be reached by the end of phase one, Hamas had called for written guarantees that the temporary peace could continue until an agreement is struck. The terror group has said though it will abide by a verbal assurances from the United States, Egypt and Qatar. But Israel has not agreed to that and airstrikes could potentially start again.
Phase 3
- The third – and final phase — would entail Hamas trading the bodies of the rest of the remaining hostages in Gaza in return for a 3- to 5-year rebuilding plan in the decimated Palestinian territory under international supervision.
“Hostages starting to come out today! Three wonderful young women will be first,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Like with the hostages released since the Oct. 7 terror attack, Gonen, Damari and Steinbrecher will receive a medical evaluation to assess their status after 15 months in captivity.
Following the medical care, the women will be reunited with their families and stay at a reception area crafted by the IDF to conduct a series of briefings of their time in Gaza.
The three women are the first hostages freed as part of a breakthrough cease-fire deal that remained uncertain until the moments leading up to their release.
The other hostages set to be released are:
- Arbel Yehud, 29
- Ariel Bibas, 5
- Kfir Bibas, 2
- Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33
- Liri Albag, 19
- Karina Ariev, 20
- Agam Berger, 21
- Danielle Gilboa, 20
- Naama Levy, 20
- Ohad Ben-Ami, 58
- Gadi Moshe Moses, 80
- Keith Siegel, 65
- Ofer Calderon, 54
- Eli Sharabi, 52
- Itzik Elgarat, 70
- Shlomo Mansour, 86
- Ohad Yahalomi, 50
- Oded Lifshitz, 84
- Tsahi Idan, 50
- Hisham al-Sayed, 36
- Yarden Bibas, 35
- Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36
- Yair Horn, 46
- Omer Wenkert, 23
- Sasha Trufanov, 28
- Eliya Cohen, 27
- Or Levy, 34
- Avera Mengistu, 38
- Tal Shoham, 39
- Omer Shem-Tov, 22
