Gaza. (IDF) The three Israeli hostages released by Gaza terror groups on Saturday were quickly transported to emotional reunions with family members, with joy and excitement mingling with sorrow and pain. One hostage was told the name of his new daughter, born two months after he was abducted, and pronounced himself delighted. Another learned that his father had been slain on October 7, 2023. A brother of the third was still in captivity. After being transferred to the Red Cross, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Troufanov, and Iair Horn, were handed over to Israel Defense Forces special forces who escorted them out of the Gaza Strip, to an IDF base near Re’im, where they were united with immediate family and underwent basic medical evaluations.
After determining that there was no need for urgent medical evacuations to nearby hospitals after 498 days held hostage by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the three hostages and their family members were airlifted by helicopter to the Sourasky and Sheba hospitals in central Israel, where they were to undergo observation and begin their rehabilitation.
‘Do you remember what you called her’ US-Israeli citizen Dekel-Chen, 36, was reunited with his wife Avital, who was seven months pregnant when he was taken hostage, his mother Neomit, who was also briefly captured by terrorists on October 7 before managing to escape, and his father Jonathan.
A video published by the military showed the embraces. “You are a champion,” Avital told him as she wept into his shoulder.