Israelis freed from Hamas captivity expressed their feelings of distress and fear for the remaining hostages on Tuesday as the country returned to fighting in Gaza, launching Operation Strength and Sword.
Eliya Cohen who was released in the recent hostage deal called the return to fighting a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages.
“I’m sorry, my brothers,” he said, addressing hostages Alon Ohel and Elkana Bohbot on Instagram.
Yarden Bibas, whose wife Shiri and infant children Ariel and Kfir were killed in Hamas captivity, also took to Instagram to share his distress at the resumption of warfare.
“Israel’s decision to return to fighting brings me back to Gaza to the moments when I heard the sounds of explosions around me and feared for my life, as I was afraid that the tunnel where I was being held would collapse,” he said.
“My wife and children were kidnapped alive and were brutally murdered in captivity. The military pressure endangers the hostages while an agreement brings them home.”
“I am petrified for my best friends – David and Ariel Cunio,” Bibas said, referring to these two brothers who are still in captivity.
“I lost my Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, but David can still return alive to Sharon, Emma, and Yuli and Ariel to his partner Arbel Yehoud and his family,” he added, calling to stop the fighting and bring the hostages home before anything else.
Freed hostage Noa Argamani also commented on the return to fighting on X/Twitter on Tuesday.
“Suddenly, out of the silence, all hope exploded in an instant,” she said, adding that the return to fighting means “explosions and noises that bring back the fear of dying” for the hostages still in Gaza.
“I remember how, in November ‘23, we heard the word hudna – a ceasefire – for the first time. And suddenly, we started seeing things change, people being released. Every day that passed, the terrorists looked at me and said, ‘Tomorrow, you’ll go home.’” Argamani said that this gave her the feeling that she would make it out alive.
“But then, in a single moment, we started hearing the explosions again. Suddenly, all the dreams of going home, of hugging family and friends shattered in an instant. The thought of seeing the light again felt so far away,” she said.
“In one moment, the ceasefire was gone, and with it, the hope that I would get out of there alive. I’m sorry, Avinatan. I’m sorry that for 529 days you haven’t seen daylight,” Argamani said, referencing captive Avinatan Or.
“I’m sorry that you were left behind,” she added, saying that the hostages must not be abandoned.
Romi Gonen: I am begging, let's keep fighting for the hostages
“My heart broke this morning,” freed hostage Romi Gonen said on Instagram.
“I won’t forget the moment in captivity when I heard the booms and understood that the deal was blown up and that I wouldn’t be back soon.”
“I am begging, Am Yisrael, we need to keep fighting for them,” Gonen said.
She called on the government to “bring them out,” saying this was “the most urgent thing. They are out of time.”
Karina Ariev: Cries of my brothers who are still in hell are echoing in my ears
Freed hostage Karina Ariev also took to Instagram to share her feelings about the return to fighting, saying that she felt helplessness, fear, and pain.
“I don’t know what the right thing to do is, but I do know for sure that the cries of my brothers who are still in hell are echoing in my ears.”
“I can see their frightened and helpless expressions. I feel that I am still there. My heart is broken and crushed,” Ariev continued.
She called on Israelis not to forget the hostages and to pray for their safety and return as well as for the safety of the soldiers in combat.
Liri Albag: Gaza hostages are being forgotten again
Freed hostage Liri Albag took to Instagram to share her feelings about the return to fighting, saying that the captives still held in Gaza “are being forgotten again.”
“Their fates are being played with – again. Their lives are being risked instead of saved – again,” she said on Instagram.
“I am writing to you as someone who was there, as someone who knew them – who heard their voices and saw their gaze and understood exactly what it meant to be left behind,” Albag said.
“We can’t continue while they are wasting away in hell,” she added.
“So many things are running through my mind... Mainly, my heart is broken, shattered, and disappointed,” said freed hostage Emily Damari, whose friends are still held captive.
She said on Instagram, “Gali [Berman], Ziv [Berman], and the rest of the hostages, we will continue to fight for you nonstop and do everything so that you will come back to us.”