Freeing the captive: four more hostages are back in Israel
I almost wrote “safe and sound” – but of course, no one in Israel is all that safe as long as the Palestinians are unpacified and Iran is functioning under a vicious theocracy pledged to Israel’s (and the West’s) destruction. And how “sound” they are remains to be seen. But now that they are free they have a chance for healing. The four are Liri Albag (19), Karina Ariev (20), Daniella Gilboa (20), and Naama Levy (20). They were all a year younger than that when captured.
The photos of family reunions are so heartwarming:
A hug 477 days in the making. pic.twitter.com/GVfiT8iWus
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 25, 2025
The handover from Hamas was much as before, with Hamas playing several roles, including beneficent benefactor, while the previously worse-than-useless Red Cross looked on:
Dozens of armed and masked Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunmen formed a cordon around a stage that had been set up in the square. A drone could be seen distributing candy to members of the crowd.
After the arrival of the Red Cross transport, the four hostages were brought into the square in separate vehicles. Dressed in olive garb meant to look like IDF uniforms and clutching “gift bags” from Hamas, the young women were marched onto a stage festooned with English and Arabic slogans such as “Palestine: The victory of the oppressed people vs the Nazi Zionism.”
A large sign in Hebrew also read, “Zionism will not win.”
One of the hostages is more famous than the others:
The image of 19-year-old Naama Levy became symbolic of Hamas’ atrocities on October 7, as a terrorist was seen dragging her by the hair from the back of a pickup truck. Naama’s hands were tied behind her back and her pants were soaked in blood. The Hamas terrorist grimaced at the cameras as he pushed her around at gunpoint.
All four of the young women were taken on October 7, 2023, from the military base at Nahal Oz. You can read about the significance of that here:
The four hostages Hamas released Saturday were taken captive while they were serving as surveillance soldiers stationed at the Nahal Oz military base on the border with Gaza. There, they were tasked with observing suspicious military movement. …
For three months prior to Hamas’ terrorist attack, Karina Ariev, 20, had warned her family of impending war, her sister Sasha Ariev, told the Christian Broadcasting Company, days after her sister was taken.
“They knew something, the girls who were the eyes of the country,” Sasha Ariev said, adding that her sister called her on the morning of the Hamas attack. Sasha Ariev said her sibling told her that she could hear shooting and screaming in the background and received a message from her sister telling her “the terrorists are here.” …
Daniella Gilboa, now 20, had told her commanders in the lead-up to Oct. 7 that she had seen people she suspected to be Hamas militants appearing to prepare for an attack, her mother, Orly Gilboa, said in August on the Meaningful People podcast.
There were few combat soldiers at the base, and the guards were easily and quickly murdered by the terrorists. If memory serves me, the attack occurred when many of the military observers were still asleep in bed, and most of them were killed. These four were captured alive, but my guess is that they saw a great deal of mayhem even prior to their abduction.
Now they are home with their families. At many points it seemed as though that would never happen. But it needed to happen, because there was no way that Israeli citizens would countenance giving up on them and considering them dead.
Many people believe this hostage deal is very bad because it will lead to even more slaughter. But as I wrote last week:
Many people believe that if Israel did not negotiate for the freedom of the hostages, the refusal would end hostage-taking by Islamic terrorists such as Hamas. I disagree. I think hostage-taking is a win for Hamas no matter what happens. They get the pleasure of having total control of the hostages. What a sense of power! That part of their motivation is similar to what drove someone like Ariel Castro, the man who kidnapped and tortured the three young girls in Cleveland, Ohio, for many years.
Not only can the Hamas kidnappers inflict pain and suffering on the hostages, and wield the power of life and death over them and release periodic videos of their pathetic state, but they cause the hostage families and millions of Israels and Israeli-sympathizers around the world to suffer. The taking of hostages – whether Israel bargains for their lives or not – also increases division and anger within Israel. These phenomena are their own rewards to those who hate Jews, Israel, and Israelis. Getting terrorists back in an exchange is a bonus, but it is not the only point and IMHO it may not even be the most major point of the whole undertaking.
Netanyahu added that the incoming Trump administration has promised support for a renewed military offensive if Gaza breaks the agreement (emphasis mine) “If we do have to resume fighting, we will do so in new ways and with very great power.”
Welcome home.
NOTE: For those who haven’t seen this already, I’m publishing it again:
May God help them heal.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.
–Isaiah 61:1 (KJV)
Included, and not in competition, for our Jan 6ers.
Thanks be to God.
And also, huxley, for the people jailed for praying outside abortion clinics.
Kate:
Certainly! I’m just struck by the “coincidence” of the Hamas hostages and J6ers starting to come home at the same time.
If Trump hadn’t turned his head that day last July….
Such a wonderful thing to see these families reunited. It’s a start that I hope continues until all the living hostages are released.
The wars in Ukraine and the ME have induced a profound sadness in me. So much death, catastrophic injury, and destruction.
Many years ago, I flew with a WWII bomber pilot who had flown 50 missions over Germany. He was highly decorated and a genuine hero. But the war in Vietnam created a sense of deep sadness in him. I didn’t understand what he was going through at the time. Now, I do.
When you’re young and in the military, you do your duty because that’s what men do – defend their country. You fought the fight and hoped it was going to bring peace. But then another war breaks out and you realize that what you fought for, peace, doesn’t last.
When I see the depth of hatred that the Islamic jihadists have for Israel, it’s distressing. Until that hatred goes away, there will be no real peace.
Until nations like Russia quit coveting their neighbors’ lands, there will be no peace. And all that makes me very sad.
https://x.com/SpencerGuard/status/1883369757543477602
Solid common sense once again. Relentless non-stop rule of common sense, contra the conventional elitist garbage thinking of the Obamist twerpers. Hulk, smash!
@ sdferr – I went to the AP post that Guard referenced, and this is now my new favorite Trump mic drop line:
https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-israel-bomb-gaza-hamas-war-023b36984c6116c128b5e47f117bba2a
I doubt he believes that all of Gaza can be emptied, and I’m sure he knows why the Arabs have refused to accept Palestinians as refugees or settlers in the last 70 year or so, but he’s always ready to throw ideas against the wall and see who takes the bait.
Or whatever.
The people who resettled from Israeli territory to Gaza during the early wars (all initiated by the Arab states) could have made a wonderful country, but they were more interested in killing Jews.
Sad.
The UN has not done well by them.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-tells-un-its-shutting-down-all-unrwa-operations-jerusalem-acute-security-risks
Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
Makes you wonder about the neutrality of the other UN agencies.
I really wish there was a written version or transcript of the Rabbi’s talk. I do much better reading than listening.
There’s a lot of Hebrew jargon in his talk. I’m no expert, but a few terms appear frequently:
halacha – Jewish law
chatufim – prisoners of war
mitzvah – commandment of obligation
pidyon shvuyim – redemption of captives (a mitzvah)
chachamim, tosafos, rishonim – sages and commentaries on the Talmud
p’kuach nefesh – saving a life (one of the highest priority mitzvahs)
mishna, gemara – the two main components of the Talmud
pshita, pshat – literal translation
AesopFan: “Makes you wonder about the neutrality of the other UN agencies.”
I assume all UN agencies and activities are biased unless proven otherwise.
Thanks AesopFan and sdferr,
Nothing beats a good laugh to put one in a proper mood. This,
Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, “Because they bought them.”
Just hit my funny bone for some reason, and I’ve been laughing off and on for at least a half hour now.
https://x.com/RichardHaass/status/1883556603137515981
Swampy insists on beclowning himself, but then with no one inclined to follow him any longer it may be all he has left to do.