Yuval Raphael accepted a huge bouquet of flowers upon her return to Israel following her surprising second-place finish at the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland.
At a press conference at Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday night, Raphael said, "I just want to give you a giant thank you that you gave me the right to be your voice, that you trusted me to give your message, I hope I gave you a lot of pride because that's what I wanted. I feel a giant victory, giant, giant, giant, but there won't be a real victory until all our hostages are home. So amen, amen, amen, they will return soon. Thank you."
She went on to thank the team that accompanied her, songwriter Keren Peles, and her family and friends, including those who also survived the Nova massacre.