LIFE AFTER RELEASE
For Israeli hostages freed from Gaza, every moment is precious
Former hostage Yuval Brodutch, 8, hugs his father shortly after they were reunited on Nov. 26, 2023.
Aviva Siegel embraces her husband, Keith Siegel, both former hostages, as they watch the sunset Aug. 6 from a field near their home in Kibbutz Gazit, Israel.
Hagar Brodutch adds the final touches to a tart Sept. 16 during a class at a culinary school in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Militants release Eli Sharabi on Feb. 8, 2025, in a hostages-prisoners swap between Hamas and Israel.
Emily Damari, 30, a former hostage, looks in the mirror July 28 in Tel Aviv, during a photo shoot for her clothing brand that has the slogan "never lose yourself," which she says helps her manage her trauma by giving her purpose and a way to support her future.
SPOTLIGHT| MIDDLE EAST
They were taken with their children or alone. Held for weeks, months or more than a year.
Confined in captors' homes or Hamas tunnels as war raged above them. Israeli former hostages say they now cherish even the smallest moments of freedom. The Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, made that Israel's single deadliest day. The militants rampaged through villages, a music festival and army bases, killing 1,200 people and dragging 251 hostages back to Gaza.
Those abducted included civilians, soldiers, men, women, children and elderly people, Israelis and foreign nationals. Most were freed in return for Palestinian prisoners during ceasefires between Israel and Hamas, but dozens did not survive.
"Freedom has completely changed the way I see life," said Emily Damari, 30, who was wounded and abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She was released in January 2025.
Her ordeal taught her not to take anything for granted, she said. "One day in captivity feels like one week. You want to give up at every moment, but I did not," said Damari, who recently married and launched a clothing line in Israel.
"Today, I open the fridge and I say thank you. I drink cold water and I say thank you. I am thankful for everything, big things and little things. Gratitude has become central to who I am," she said. "Being free, at home, surrounded by my family and my people is something I will never take for granted again."
'I choose life'
Eli Sharabi, 54, was seized from nearby Kibbutz Be'eri. His British-born wife, Lianne, and their two daughters, Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, were killed by the attackers. His brother Yossi was taken hostage and killed in Gaza.
In February 2025, a skeletally thin Sharabi was released after 491 days of captivity, which he says included being held in a tunnel, shackled and beaten.
"I learned in captivity how precious every moment and every choice can be, and I carry that understanding with me now. I choose to look ahead, to keep going and to use the life I have in a meaningful way," Sharabi said.
Since his release, he helped establish the Shalva Sharabi Family Centre in the southern city of Ashkelon with the disability charity Shalva, to treat families coping with trauma and disabilities in commemoration of his own lost family.
"I choose life," he said. "I choose to keep living fully, while carrying Lianne, Noiya, Yahel and Yossi with me in everything I do."
His wife and daughters believed deeply in caring for others, he said. "Their kindness and care for others will continue. Families will walk through these doors and receive help, care and hope in a place that carries their name," Sharabi said. "That gives me strength and makes me very proud."
Building a future
Hagar Brodutch was seized from Kfar Aza with her three children and her neighbors' daughter, who fled to their house after her parents were killed. They were freed during a brief truce in November 2023.
Life after captivity, she said, can be far more complicated than sometimes portrayed.
"The daily struggle is immense, especially for children. I believe it will take many more years before captivity becomes just a shadow that walks alongside us, rather than something that defines who we are," Brodutch said.
Recently, Brodutch, 43, began taking classes in pastry baking, for which she long had a passion.
"This is about much more than learning how to bake," she said. "It is about finding a new path, creating something with my own hands, and slowly building a future."
"During my time in Hamas captivity, I began to understand that if I were released, returning to my previous life and working in management might no longer be possible," Brodutch said.
"I chose pastry as a form of therapy, but also as a way to create something new for myself," she said, "with the hope that one day it could become my profession."
Kfar Aza was one of the hardest-hit communities in Hamas' attack. Aviva Siegel, 65, was kidnapped with her husband, Keith. She was released in November 2023, but Keith was held until February 2025.
Aviva joined the hostage release campaign movement in Israel while her husband was still being held. Their reunion and her children and grandchildren, and even strangers she meets, give her strength every day, she says.
"I feel that I'm not alone and that there's so much love in this world and we need to keep it with both our hands," she said. "I feel very, very lucky to be alive."
