Former hostages Rom Braslavski and Nimrod Cohen expressed their gratitude and excitement in their first statements since their release at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday, alongside family members of hostages whose remains are yet to be returned.
“I can’t believe I’m in the place that I saw on television in Gaza. I said it was my dream to get there, and now I’m here,” said Braslavski. “There is no one happier than me to stand here in front of you. I want to say first of all that it’s good to be here, it feels good to be here with you. I want to tell you that I love you all, each and every one.”
Braslavski thanked the IDF and “all the soldiers who entered Gaza and knew they might be going to die so that I could return to live.”
He also apologized to the family of deceased hostage Hadar Goldin, Avera Mengistu, who was held captive for ten years, disappeared IAF navigator Ron Arad, and “those who were left behind and who no one rescued for many long years.”
“This is our time to rescue everyone who remains in Gaza,” he said, acknowledging that while his father was lucky to receive him walking on his legs, there are families that will receive a coffin.
Braslavski, 21, is a German-Israeli national, was working as a security guard when Hamas invaded Israel. He attempted to fight the terrorists with only stones.
“We will continue to fight for everyone. We will not stop. We will continue with all our strength. Now. Bring them all home,” he said.
Cohen recalled how Hamas terrorists would taunt him during his time in the tunnels, telling him that no one was going to fight for the hostages. “On the day we returned home, the moment I crossed the border back into Israel, I understood that it was all lies,” he said.
“I have no doubt that Hamas knows where they are and is simply enjoying this insane game they are playing. Every day that passes is another day that one of them could disappear forever. There is no time!” he said.
Cohen was abducted on October 7, at 19, while serving in the IDF as part of the armored corps. He was taken alongside fellow soldiers Omer Neutra, Oz Daniel, and Shaked Dahan, who were all murdered by Hamas. All four were taken from a burning tank near Kibbutz Nir Im.
He thanked US President Donald Trump for bringing him back, and urged him to continue his efforts until the remaining five hostages are home.
The sister of fallen hostage Ran Gvili also spoke at the square. “On October 7th, Ran joined a vehicle with Maj. General Guy Madar. Together, they saved 50 partygoers from the Nova festival. He joined the emergency squad of Alumim and together with the brave fighters saved the kibbutz from massacre,” she recalled.
'Even a bad ending is an ending'
“My brother was not supposed to be there, but there was nothing more right for him than to show up. Despite waiting to undergo shoulder surgery, Ran put on his uniform. He set out, without hesitation, without delay, without thinking about himself, but perhaps precisely because he thought about who he was. Precisely because of that, he went out to protect, to save, so that his heart would be whole even if it put his life in danger.”
“In what world am I supposed to envy families who are burying their loved ones?” she asked, expressing concern that the ending for her and the four other families awaiting the return of their loved ones won’t be good.
“Even a bad ending is an ending, and this is a chapter that must be closed,” she reflected.
Elad Or, brother of deceased hostage Dror Or, whose remains are yet to be returned, expressed joy for the return of what he called 20 “walking miracles.” He also said he felt relieved for the 23 hostages who were returned.
“Dror should have celebrated with his wife, Yonat, this week, her 53rd birthday,” he said. “They probably would have gone to a beautiful vacation rental. Unfortunately, this will no longer be, but at least he has the right to be buried next to Yonat in Be’eri.”
Yonat was murdered by Hamas terrorists in her home in Kibbutz Be’eri, and her two children and nephew were taken captive alongside her husband.
The couple’s children, Noa and Alma, were released on November 25, and their nephew Liam on November 29.
“The time is now,” urged Or. “There will be no other opportunity. Even if the searches take more time because of the destruction, even if complex international cooperation is required, even if there are more obstacles, there is no other choice. Israel must have Dror back home. Everyone back home.”
Meny Godard - whose partial remains were located by the IDF in March -was remembered by his daughter, Bar, whose mother, Ayelet, was also murdered on October 7.
'Your time to come home'
“I’m afraid that you will be left behind, that you will be forgotten,” she said, “and also afraid of that moment when you return and then I will know with certainty that you are dead. That small hope that helps me get up in the morning will disappear, and my heart will have to come to terms with what my head knows. That you are not here.”
“Throughout the journey, I knew he would not have been willing to return before all the living hostages were home. But now, dad, it is your time to come home. Now I so need you to return,” she said.
Slain hostage Sahar Baruch’s mother, Tami Baruch, recalled the moment her son was returned for burial at Kibbutz Be’eri. “He is now buried next to his brother Edan and close to his grandmother, my mother Geula, and many more beloved family and friends who were murdered in cold blood on October 7th and in its aftermath,” she said.
Baruch said that this “relay race” will only end when the last hostage is returned.
“The five remaining families must also have certainty and the possibility to fulfill the basic right to be buried in the soil of their land. Our ending, the families of the fallen, is a bad ending, but we all have a basic right to an ending.”