At first, it was a gentle noise in the distance, but then it became louder and more rhythmic. People started pointing into the sky, and the cheering began, rumbling through Hostages Square.
A helicopter came into view, descending towards a nearby hospital.
Image: A military helicopter carrying released American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel. Pic: Reuters
Around us, hundreds of people were waving up into the air – a greeting for Keith Siegel.
He began the day as a hostage, his plight for nearly 500 days, but now, peering down at Tel Aviv, he was free.
This square has seen so much emotion since 7 October 2023. It is now a mass of pictures, posters and displays, a focal point for a nation that wants its people back and a forum to share both pain and celebration.
Image: People watch from Tel Aviv amid the hostage return. Pic: Reuters
Today, as the hundreds who came to the square watched on a big screen, there was both joy and anguish.
The delight of seeing three hostages released; the pain of knowing that their pain has been profound, and that, for one of them, it simply carries on.
Image: Clockwise from left – Keith Samuel Siegel, Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon
‘He has hell ahead of him’
When we first saw Yarden Bibas, there was no trace of a smile, no sign of relief. This was a man who was violently assaulted when he was captured: smashed in the head with a hammer.
His wife, Shiri, and his children Ariel, aged four at the time, and Kfir, just nine months old, were taken hostage at the same time.
But after barely a month as captives, Hamas claimed that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Image: Yarden Bibas just before being handed to the Red Cross. Pic: Retuers
Many hoped it was simply a lie designed to spread anger and create division. Images of Ariel and Kfir, red-headed and smiling, became a familiar symbol of hope and optimism.
But here, as Yarden Bibas stood alone, the hope began to dissipate.
“He has left hell,” said a man watching quietly in the square, “but I think he has hell ahead of him”.
Later, as Yarden Bibas met his father and sister – in the reception centre set up at a military base in Israel before he was transported to hospital – he held them tight, his smile transforming into an expression of such sadness that it was hard to watch.
Image: Released Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas embraces loved ones. Pic: Reuters
Such is the uneasy blend of emotions.
Dan Lifshitz’s grandfather, Oded, a neighbour of both Ofer Calderon and Yarden Bibas, is still a hostage.
“He would be so happy that they have been released,” he told me. “He would want them to live their life. I am hopeful for him, to see him again. But I don’t wish anyone, not even my worst enemy, to go through this.”
Urgent desire for peace faces new test this week
When a hostage is released, there is a wave of euphoria that sweeps alongside and washes away any unease at trading Israeli hostages for far greater numbers of Palestinian prisoners.
There is a sense among many in this country that the return of hostages was such a fundamental, visceral need that almost any price was worth paying.
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Three Israeli hostages released
Early next week, ceasefire negotiations will start again, this time about shaping the second phase of this fragile deal.
This, crucially, is about designing a permanent ceasefire, the return of all living hostages and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops. These are huge ambitions and it is clear that talks will be complicated, difficult and politically charged.
But when you talk to people in either Hostages Square, or on the streets of Ramallah in the West Bank, it is also clear there is an urgent desire for peace.
The question is what concessions each side is prepared to accept in pursuing that goal.
Source : Sky News
