On Oct. 13, the remaining Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks were released as the first phase in the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan held in the shaken region.
Twenty Israeli hostages in Gaza were transferred to the International Committee of the Red Cross and returned home, according to the Israeli military. Almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel as part of the ceasefire deal.
Israeli hostages’ release reverberates in Lower Hudson Valley
The Orangetown Jewish Center in Rockland County held a Welcome Home ceremony for the released Israeli hostages Oct. 13.
“There is great cause for celebration to know that some families have been restored, but to see the pictures, the faces, the stories of suffering that these family members have endured it’s just truly heartbreaking,” said Rabbi Craig Scheff.
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler was in attendance at the ceremony.
“It’s a historic moment in our nation’s history and certainly in the Middle East. It’s a moment of joy and peace and obviously after 738 days it’s a remarkable moment to have all the living hostages home,” Lawler said.
2 New Yorkers killed in captivity, remains not yet released
Many New Yorkers lauded the hostage release. But they demanded that the bodies of hostages killed in captivity also be returned.
Those include two young dual citizens with roots in New York who were serving in the Israeli armed services.
Contributing: lohud’s Nancy Cutler and Peter Carr.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: See Orangetown Jewish Center host Welcome Home ceremony for released Israeli hostages
Reporting by Staff Reports / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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