Homecoming, hope and healing after 738 days

After 738 days, they came home.

The release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Monday was a miracle we were not sure we would ever see. It was the culmination of two years of pain and longing.

We didn’t know them personally, but we knew them. We knew their stories, their dreams. We saw their suffering. We ached with their loved ones waiting for their return. We cried tears of joy seeing them released.

The emotion overcame us too here at The AJN. Over the past two years, we have taken seriously our responsibility to report on October 7 and its aftermath – but have done so while living the emotions ourselves.

The timing of their release too was deeply significant, coming on the eve of Simchat Torah, a usually joyous festival that became a wretched day two years ago as Hamas embarked on its rampage of slaughter.