‘I’m Afraid to Wake Up and Discover It’s a Dream’: Hostage Families React to Hostage Deal Approval
Torches illuminated Hostages Square in Tel Aviv early Thursday as families and survivors gathered to celebrate the US-brokered agreement between Israel and Hamas that is expected to bring home the remaining hostages.
“Thank you to President Trump and everyone who helped bring my child and all the hostages home,” said Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan has been held in Gaza since the October 7 massacre. “I’m afraid to wake up and discover it’s a dream.”
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Rivka Bohbot, the wife of hostage Elkana, described the announcement as a moment of renewal after two years of anguish. “I’ve been fighting for my husband’s life, for his return, for our home, for hope,” she said. “This is a moment when a small child will hug his father again — when an entire country chooses life.”
Captivity survivors Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen joined families in the square, embracing and cheering as champagne bottles were opened to mark what many called “the beginning of the end of pain.”
According to a source briefed on the deal, Israeli hostages could begin returning as soon as Saturday under the first stage of President Trump’s Gaza initiative. The agreement calls for a partial IDF withdrawal from the enclave within 24 hours of signing, which is scheduled for noon Thursday, Israel time.
