Friday’s release of 13 Israeli hostages, 10 hostages from Thailand and one from the Philippines is like a sliver of light in a very dark time. NBC6’s Ari Odzer reports
It’s hard to overstate how much the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks have galvanized the Israeli-American community in South Florida.
They are glued to every development in the war with Hamas, so Friday's release of 13 Israeli hostages, 10 hostages from Thailand and one from the Philippines is like a sliver of light in a very dark time.
“My heart is broken, I’m a strong man, and I can’t stop crying every day when I see these pictures, all I want is to get them back,” said Shlomi Ezra, an Israeli-American business owner who is active in the effort to raise supplies for the Israeli homefront.
The Freibach family survived the rampage in their kibbutz, Nahal Oz, by hiding in their saferoom for 11 hours. But Hamas terrorists murdered three of their neighbors and kidnapped a dozen more. The family arrived in South Florida on Wednesday.
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Moran Freibach described his t-shirt, which had two pictures on it.
“This is Mayaan Idan, who was killed on the day, she’s 18, and this is my dear neighbor who I used to sit with every day, for coffee every day, this is Tsachi,” Freibach said.
He said none of his close friends were released in Friday's first stage of the hostages-for-prisoners deal.
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“It’s not my close friends but it gives me hope, a little hope, I’m glad that some families are getting together again,” said Moran’s wife, Adi Freibach.
She is still clearly traumatized by her family’s experience in Nahal Oz, and by losing friends in the Oct. 7 attack.
“It’s very emotional,” Adi said through tears. “They were all, the people who were killed, kidnapped, a friend of mine, the mother, we were very close friends.”
Moran Freibach said one of his friends received good news Friday: His mother was among those released.
“This is a good thing, a very happy thing that hostages are released but remember, the price is very high for us,” Moran said. “Just to remind everyone that for every hostage that were released, three terrorists with blood on their hands were released, too.”
The deal calls for Israel to release 150 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been convicted of violent crimes, in exchange for 50 innocent civilians abducted by Hamas. It’s scheduled in stages during a four-day temporary cease-fire.
Samantha and Nir Lerman, husband and wife, found out Friday that their cousins, Raaya Rotem and her daughter Hila, are on the list to be released in the coming days.
“First we found out, we were told they were murdered and we only found out from news sources in Israel that they were captured, they were kidnapped so the fact that they could potentially be released is something, you can’t put that into words, they’re civilians, not soldiers, she’s 12 years old,” Samantha Lerman said. “She’s been captured for 48 days, please explain how that’s normal in any society in the world.”
The Lermans say they’re now hoping Hamas keeps its promise and releases them, along with all of the hostages.
