Each of the three hostages released by Hamas were given a bizarre “gift bag” before they were handed over to the Red Cross. British national Emily Damari, 28, along with Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were released to the Red Cross today after being held hostage for 471 days.
The terrorist group also at the same time released a sick propaganda video that captured the moment of their release. The disturbing propaganda video showed the three women being bundled into a van, smiling in relief as they expected their freedom and reunion with their families. All the three hostages were finally reunited with their families on Sunday morning.
Bizarre Parting Gift
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The three hostages were recorded being loaded into a vehicle. Without saying a word, a Hamas member handed each of them a paper bag marked with the group’s emblem. Their smiles quickly shifted from relief to unease as they were given the brown paper bags bearing the Hamas logo and were forced to hold them up and pose for the camera.
When their vehicle reached its destination, the women were met with an overwhelming scene of hundreds of militants surrounding the van, shouting and banging on the doors and windows.
Some militants even climbed onto the roof of the vehicle.
As the van door opened, the three former hostages appeared visibly shaken. Clutching their “gift bags,” they hurriedly pushed through the intimidating crowd, running toward safety.
According to the Israeli news outlet Ynet, the gift bags given to the women contained “souvenirs and mementos,” including photographs of them during their captivity, a commemorative picture of Gaza, and a type of certificate.
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The hostages referred to the gift bags as a “cynical game,” seemingly designed to play psychological games with them, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Finally Reunited
In the rest of the video, a representative from the Red Cross was shown signing a document presented by Hamas before the hostages were handed over. These three women are the first hostages released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire agreement.
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They were seen sobbing in joy as they reunited with their families at the hospital, bringing an end to their harrowing 471-day captivity.
British-Israeli Emily Damari was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7. During the attack, she was shot in the hand, sustained shrapnel injuries to her leg, and was blindfolded before being forced into her car and taken to Gaza. Hamas members also killed her golden cockapoo, Choocha, during the incident.
Emily has now been reunited with her mother, and heartwarming photographs captured her smiling as she embraced her family. Wrapped in an Israeli flag, she shared emotional hugs with loved ones upon arriving at the hospital.
The other two released hostages, 24-year-old Romi Gonen—who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival—and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, were also seen embracing their mothers in emotional reunions.
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Romi was surrounded by her family in an emotional group hug, while Doron broke down in tears as she embraced her relatives in the hospital corridors.
The three women were picked up by an international Red Cross convoy from Hamas custody.
The ceasefire was delayed earlier in the day when Hamas failed to provide the required list of names 24 hours in advance, as outlined in the agreement. Hamas blamed the delay in halting 15 months of conflict to a “technical” issue.
