When Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, the three Israelis held captive in Gaza, were released on Sunday, the Palestine militant group Hamas's operatives were seen gifting them a "bag of souvenirs".
Footage released by Hamas showed an operative handing Damari and Gonen, both held together in Gaza, a bag reportedly containing souvenirs of their time in captivity. The bag contained a photo of Gaza, reported Ynet News. The video also showed a terrorist handing them a "release certificate" which was later put in the bag.
Israel called this act an exploitation of the hostages held in Gaza for 471 days. "These items are a cynical and psychological exploitation of women who were deprived of their freedom by monsters," an Israeli official was quoted by Ynet.
The hostages were driven by IDF and Shin Bet personnel to the border after their handover. They reunited with their loved ones before they underwent initial medical assessments at a complex set up by the IDF near the Gaza border at Re’im Base. The Prime Minister’s Office released photos and video of the three women meeting with their families at the hospital.
Damari, a 28-year-old British-Israeli, was seen with a bandage around her hand as she waved to her relatives. Her family told media persons that she lost two fingers after being shot by Hamas men during the October 7 incident. She was at her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza when the gunmen burst into her home and shot her dog. Damari suffered bullet wounds as she tried to comfort her dying pet.
Gonen too was reunited with her mother, and even met Damari's mother. "You don’t understand what your daughter was to me all this time," she reportedly told Damari's mother.
Steinbrecher’s family too published a statement voicing "gratitude to everyone who supported and accompanied us along this journey."