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‘An Evening of Tears’: Israeli Hostages, Bereaved Relatives Voice Mixed Emotions Ahead of Release Deal
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks as he visits a site next to “Hostages Square” amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and ahead of the expected return of hostages held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
The families of Israeli hostages, fallen soldiers, and terror victims voiced their feelings Sunday night about the pending hostage release from Gaza, on what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “an evening of tears and happiness.”
Ilan Dalal, the father of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, said he hoped to hug his son and “tell him that the nightmare is over.” But he also said he didn’t know “what kind of son I’m going to get back.” In the last video released of Guy by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Dalal said he saw “despair in his eyes,” adding his hope that he would be able to “rebuild his life.”
Dalal spoke alongside former hostage Tal Shoham on a Zoom call with members of the press. Dalal’s son was held in the tunnels in Gaza along with Shoham, Omer Wenkert — who has since been released — and Evyatar David, who is set for release on Monday.
Shoham thanked US President Donald Trump for “making the impossible possible” and said he wished he could shake the president’s hand “not only for this deal but for the deal that released me.”
Trump departed for Israel and Egypt on Sunday to celebrate the US-brokered ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas to halt fighting in Gaza. The war began with Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, during which Palestinian terrorists from Gaza murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages.
In his remarks Sunday evening, Netanyahu called the impending releases “a historic event, which some did not believe would ever happen,” and urged Israelis to set aside their differences.
“With joint strength, we achieved spectacular victories,” he said, while warning that the military campaign was not over. “There are still major security challenges ahead of us. Some of our enemies are trying to recover in order to attack us again but we are on this.”
Not everyone supported the deal, which would see around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the remaining 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Brenda Lemkus, whose daughter Dalia was murdered in a 2014 stabbing attack in the West Bank, joined other bereaved relatives from the Choosing Life group — which opposes prisoner releases — in condemning the decision to release her daughter’s killer.
“Releasing him invites the next murder immediately,” Lemkus said. “The blood of those murdered is on the ministers who voted for this.” She called on Israel to institute the death penalty for terrorists.
Michael Nurzhitz, brother of reservist Vadim Nurzhitz, said that while he was happy for the hostages and their families, releasing Raed Sheikh — the terrorist and Palestinian police officer responsible for his brother’s murder — was “unfathomable,” especially ahead of the 25th anniversary of the incident.
Vadim Nurzhitz and fellow Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservist Yossi Avrahami were lynched in Ramallah on Oct. 12, 2000, after accidentally entering the city and being taken into custody at a Palestinian police station.
“If they release the murderer, the terrorist will return to terror, just like those released in the Shalit deal — they will return to murder us,” Nurzhitz said, referring to the 2011 exchange that freed Gilad Shalit in return for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar, who later masterminded Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Choosing Life petitioned the High Court against the move, saying “the blood of our children has turned into a tradable commodity.”
Eliya Atias, whose son Eden was stabbed to death while he was sleeping in 2013, said the release of his son’s murderer was a sacrifice she “felt good” about making if it meant freeing the hostages.
“I am a believing Jew who believes that the Creator will pay him back,” she said. “I feel that thanks to my act, I am saving the lives of my brothers in Gaza.”
Emotions were also mixed at a Sukkot event attended by 2,000 bereaved Israelis, organized by OneFamily, which supports victims of terror and their families.
Hagit Rosenzweig, whose son, Staff Sgt. Eitan Rosenzweig, was killed in Jabalia in north Gaza early in the war, called it a “very complex day.”
“We are very happy that the hostages are returning, and that families are being reunited. But our son isn’t ever coming home,” she said.
Meir Hershkowitz, whose son Netanel was also killed in Jabalia in October 2024, said he was “thrilled for the families” but urged Israelis not to forget those who were killed.
Both Rosenzweig and Hershkowitz said they found solace in being with others who shared their loss. “Especially during the holidays when the absence is most deeply felt. Being here with other families who understand the same pain is powerful,” Hershkowitz said.
On the Zoom call, Dalal described the rollercoaster of the past two years, noting many moments of “great despair,” but said he reminded himself that his son was “counting on him to be his voice” from inside the tunnels of Gaza.
“We didn’t have the option to break down,” he said.
Shoham said he endured “torture, cruelty, and starvation” during his captivity. Hamas withheld food as “sadistic psychological warfare,” keeping them on “200 or 300 calories a day” — first “to make us suffer,” and second “to pressure Israeli society,” he said. He described seeing “boxes and boxes and boxes” of aid diverted by captors who bragged of having supplies “for months ahead,” while refusing to share it with hostages in the tunnels.
Shoham distinguished between Hamas and the people around them, while conceding, bleakly, how porous that boundary had become. “I know that there are people who support Hamas — I don’t know if it’s all of them but a lot of them are part of Hamas and are disguised as civilians.”
His guards, he noted, had ordinary jobs. “One was a first-grade teacher, another was a lecturer at a university, and another was a doctor. These are normal people becoming terrorists.”
Shoham also described the mindset that helped him survive.
“I consider myself a spiritual person on a spiritual journey. I believe human life has a purpose,” he said. “During captivity, I tried to do everything in my power to honor my life, no matter what they would do to me. We’re not responsible for the terrible things our enemies will do — or even for any deals that are made. Our only mission is to become better each day and to cleanse ourselves from the cruelty and hell we went through.”
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Iran and US Views on Sanctions Relief Differ, Iranian Official Tells Reuters
Iranian women walk past an anti-US billboard in Tehran, Iran, February 19, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran and the United States have differing views over sanctions relief in talks to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, adding that new talks were planned in early March as fears of a military confrontation grow.
Iran and the US renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program as the US builds up its military capability in the Middle East, fueling fears of a wider war.
Iran has threatened to strike US bases in the Middle East if it is attacked by US forces.
“The last round of talks showed that US ideas regarding the scope and mechanism of sanctions relief differ from Iran’s demands. Both sides need to reach a logical timetable for lifting sanctions,” the official said.
“This roadmap must be reasonable and based on mutual interests.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days, while US President Donald Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.
READINESS TO COMPROMISE
While rejecting a US demand for “zero enrichment” – a major sticking point in past negotiations – Tehran has signaled its readiness to compromise on its nuclear work.
Washington views enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and wants its right to enrich uranium to be recognized.
Washington has also demanded that Iran relinquish its stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU). The UN nuclear agency last year estimated that stockpile at more than 440 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, a small step away from the 90% that is considered weapons grade.
The Iranian official said Tehran could seriously consider a combination of exporting part of its HEU stockpile, diluting the purity of its most highly enriched uranium and the establishment of a regional enrichment consortium in exchange for the recognition of Iran’s right to “peaceful nuclear enrichment.”
“The negotiations continue and the possibility of reaching an interim agreement exists,” he said.
BENEFITS FOR BOTH SIDES
Iranian authorities have said that a diplomatic solution delivers economic benefits for both Tehran and Washington.
“Within the economic package under negotiation, the United States has also been offered opportunities for serious investment and tangible economic interests in Iran’s oil industry,” the official said.
However, he said Tehran will not hand over control of its oil and mineral resources.
“Ultimately, the US can be an economic partner for Iran, nothing more. American companies can always participate as contractors in Iran’s oil and gas fields.”
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Mike Huckabee’s Comments to Tucker Carlson on Israel and Middle East Land Draw Condemnation in Region
Tucker Carlson speaks on first day of AmericaFest 2025 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 18, 2025. Photo: Charles-McClintock Wilson/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect
Comments by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggesting that Israel had a biblical right to much of the Middle East drew condemnation over the weekend from countries across the region, who called his remarks “dangerous and inflammatory.”
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, has been a staunch supporter of Israel throughout his political career and a longtime defender of Jewish settlements in the West Bank – land which the Palestinians seek for a state.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson that was conducted on Wednesday in Israel and aired on Friday, the populist US talk show host asked Huckabee about Israel’s right to exist and about Jewish roots in the ancient land.
Citing the book of Genesis, Carlson asked whether the modern state of Israel had a right to the lands promised in the Bible by God to Abraham, stretching from the Euphrates River to the Nile, covering much of the Middle East. In response, Huckabee said:
“It would be fine if they took it all. But I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about here today.”
Huckabee added: “We’re talking about this land that the state of Israel now lives in and wants to have peace in, they’re not trying to take over Jordan, they’re not trying to take over Syria, they’re not trying to take over Iraq or anywhere else. They want to protect their people.”
In response, a joint statement condemning Huckabee’s comments was issued by the Palestinians and countries in the Middle East and beyond, including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan.
They said his comments were: “Dangerous and inflammatory remarks, which constitute a flagrant violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and pose a grave threat to the security and stability of the region.”
A US Embassy spokesperson said Huckabee’s comments did not reflect any change in US policy and that his full remarks made clear that Israel has no desire to change its current boundaries.
Israeli officials did not immediately comment on the interview or the reaction from countries that signed the joint statement.
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Jack Hughes Makes History as 1st Jewish Male Athlete with Olympic ‘Golden Goal’
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Ice Hockey – Men’s Gold Medal Game – Canada vs United States – Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, Milan, Italy – February 22, 2026. Jack Hughes of United States scores their second goal in overtime to win gold. Photo: REUTERS/David W Cerny
i24 News – Jack Hughes made history on Sunday as the first hockey player widely recognized for both having a bar mitzvah and scoring an Olympic game-winning goal, leading the United States to its first men’s hockey gold medal since 1980.
The 24-year-old New Jersey Devils star from Orlando, Florida, scored early in sudden-death overtime to secure a 2-1 victory over Canada at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Hughes finished a cross-ice pass from teammate Zach Werenski, who had wrestled the puck from Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon.
“This is all about our country right now,” Hughes said. “I love the USA. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The USA Hockey brotherhood is so strong.” Hughes also endured a high stick during the game, losing a couple of teeth but continuing to play.
The victory marked the first US win over Canada in a top-level men’s competition since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. The win completed a US sweep of Olympic hockey gold, following the women’s 2-1 overtime victory against Canada on Thursday.
Hughes ended the tournament with three goals and three assists, contributing offensively even from a lower line. His older brother, Quinn Hughes, a Minnesota Wild defenseman, scored the US overtime winner against Sweden in the quarterfinals. Their parents, Jim and Ellen Hughes, were present for the celebrations.
Team USA also paid tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed in 2024 with his brother. Gaudreau’s jersey hung in the locker room throughout the tournament, and players carried it onto the ice after the medal ceremony. Two of Gaudreau’s children joined the team for commemorative photos.
Sunday’s match marked the third men’s Olympic gold medal game between the US and Canada, with Canada having won in 2002 and 2010. Hughes’ golden goal solidifies him as a historic figure in hockey, blending his Jewish heritage with Olympic triumph.