As soon as the four women’s silhouettes appeared on the screen, cries of joy erupted, with many embracing one another tearfully in celebration.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and Liri Albag, 19, waved, smiled, and gave thumbs up as they were paraded on a stage in Gaza City, flanked by masked and armed militants.
“The feeling is great, excitement, tears and joy, it’s all at once,” said Sima Ben Naim, a 70-year-old from Tel Aviv.
“It’s not only happiness, we also have tears, and I hope all (the hostages) will return.”
One woman cried and laughed holding up a picture of Levy, under whose name appeared the number 19, struck through and corrected with the number 20, indicating the age she turned while in captivity.
There were more scenes of jubilation when Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced on live television that the four women had arrived in Israel, after 477 days in war-ravaged Gaza.
