After the initial jubilation of being freed, the released captives — who have been held for more than 15 months — are likely to endure a trying re-entry, based on the testimony of those who were held hostage themselves.
The family of released Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon thanked the French government and U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday for bringing their loved one back home.
“Ofer is home after 484 days in hell. We had the privilege to hug him again,” said Sharon Kalderon, sister-in-law of Ofer Kalderon, during statements at Sheba Medical Center in central Israel, where Ofer is being treated.
Nissan Kalderon, the brother of Ofer Kalderon said “he, and we, have a long and difficult road to recovery ahead of us.”
Ofer Kalderon, 54, a French-Israeli citizen, was released on Saturday along with American-Israeli Keith Siegel and Argentinian-Israeli Yarden Bibas.
He was taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His teenage children, Sahar and Erez, and his ex-wife, Hadas, were also abducted, but they were freed during the weeklong ceasefire in 2023.
Hamas freed three hostages in the Gaza Strip on Saturday and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth round of exchanges during the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The six-week phase one of the truce calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners, as well as the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory.
Israel and Hamas are set next week to begin negotiating a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for releasing the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.
