A 9-year-old Israeli child and his family were reunited Friday for the first time after he was taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
Video shows the child, Ohad Munder, running down a corridor into the arms of his father, who scoops him up and spins him around. Behind him his mother, 55-year-old Keren Munder, and his grandmother, 78-year-old Ruti Munder, are also greeted with hugs. His grandfather, Avraham Munder, has not been released.
Munder, who loves solving Rubik’s cubes, turned 9 while being held in Gaza, and Israelis held events across the country to celebrate the day, according to the Times of Israel. Schneider Medical Center, which released the video of the reunion, also released photos of him solving a Rubik’s cube as Israel Defense Forces soldiers looked on.
“I’m waiting to see Ohad and can’t wait to give him his Rubik’s cube which I know he really loved and he probably missed it so much,” his cousin, Roni Haviv, told Reuters as she watched videos of the release.
Munder was one of 24 hostages taken by Hamas who were released Friday as part of a four-day cease-fire negotiated by Qatar. Other hostages released included two Israeli sisters, ages 2 and 4, as well as an Israeli 5-year-old girl and her mother, according to Reuters. Ten Thai nationals and one Philipino were also released Friday. At least 50 hostages of an estimated 240 Hamas hostages are set to be released during the truce.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told CNN that 13 more hostages were expected to be released by Hamas Saturday in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners.
More than three dozen Palestinian prisoners, including 24 women and 15 teenagers, were also released into the West Bank Friday, to a cheering crowd outside Jerusalem. Israel is expected to release 150 Palestinian prisoners over the course of the ceasefire, and has offered to extend the truce one day for every 10 additional Israeli hostages released.
The Israeli government ordered Palestinian celebrations over the release of the hostages—which included fireworks and pop music—to be shut down, according to the Associated Press. At one point, security forces released tear gas into the crowd.
“The army is trying to take this moment away from us but they can’t,” Mays Foqaha, who was there to celebrate the release of her 18-year-old friend, told the AP. ”This is our day of victory.”
Video Shows Reunion of 9-Year-Old Israeli Boy with Family
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25.11.2023
A 9-year-old Israeli child and his family were reunited Friday for the first time after he was taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
Video shows the child, Ohad Munder, running down a corridor into the arms of his father, who scoops him up and spins him around. Behind him his mother, 55-year-old Keren Munder, and his grandmother, 78-year-old Ruti Munder, are also greeted with hugs. His grandfather, Avraham Munder, has not been released.
Munder, who loves solving Rubik’s cubes, turned 9 while being held in Gaza, and Israelis held events across the country to celebrate the day, according to the........
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