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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 Opposes Grossi’s UN Secretary-General Candidacy, Accuses Him of Failing to Uphold International Law
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi holds a press conference on the opening day of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) quarterly Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
Iran has publicly opposed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi’s potential appointment as UN Secretary-General next year, accusing him of failing to uphold international law by not condemning US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
During a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, sharply criticized Grossi, calling him unfit” to serve as UN Secretary-General next year, Iranian media reported.
“A candidate who has deliberately failed to uphold the UN Charter — or to condemn unlawful military attacks against safeguarded, peaceful nuclear facilities … undermines confidence in his ability to serve as a faithful guardian of the charter and to discharge his duties independently, impartially, and without political bias or fear of powerful states,” the Iranian diplomat said.
With UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ term ending in December next year, member states have already begun nominating candidates to take over the role ahead of the expected 2026 election.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel’s relationship with Guterres has spiraled downward, reaching a low point last year when then-Foreign Minister Israel Katz labeled the UN “antisemitic and anti-Israeli” and declared Guterres persona non grata after the top UN official failed to condemn Tehran for its ballistic missile attack against the Jewish state.
Last week, Argentina officially nominated Grossi to succeed Guterres as the next UN Secretary-General.
To be elected, a nominee must first secure the support of at least nine members of the UN Security Council and avoid a veto from any of its five permanent members — the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France.
Afterward, the UN General Assembly votes, with a simple majority needed to confirm the organization’s next leader.
As head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog since 2019, Grossi has consistently urged Iran to provide transparency on its nuclear program and cooperate with the agency, efforts the Islamist regime has repeatedly rejected and obstructed.
Despite Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes rather than weapons development, Western powers have said there is no “credible civilian justification” for the country’s nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”
With prospects for renewed negotiations or nuclear cooperation dwindling, Iran has been intensifying efforts to rebuild its air and defense capabilities decimated during the 12-day war with Israel.
On Monday, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), declared that the IAEA has no authority to inspect sites targeted during the June war, following Grossi’s renewed calls for Tehran to allow inspections of its nuclear sites and expand cooperation with the agency.
Iran has also announced plans to expand its nuclear cooperation with Russia and advance the construction of new nuclear power plants, as both countries continue to deepen their bilateral relations.
According to AEOI spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi, one nuclear power plant is currently operational, while other two are under construction, with new contracts signed during a recent high-level meeting in Moscow.
Kamalvandi also said Iran plans to build four nuclear power plants in the country’s southern region as part of its long-term partnership with Russia.
During a joint press conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated Iran’s commitment to defending the country’s “legal nuclear rights” under the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal, noting that Tehran’s nuclear policies have remained within the international legal framework.
Iran’s growing ties with Russia, particularly in nuclear cooperation, have deepened in recent years as both countries face mounting Western sanctions and seek to expand their influence in opposition to Western powers.
Russia has not only helped Iran build its nuclear program but also consistently defended the country’s “nuclear rights” on the global stage, while opposing the imposition of renewed economic sanctions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has described the reinstatement of UN sanctions against Iran as a “disgrace to diplomacy.”
In an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN), Lavrov accused European powers of attempting to blame Tehran for the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal, despite what he described as Iran’s compliance with the agreement.
Prior to the 12-day war, the IAEA flagged a series of Iranian violations of the deal.
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Eurovision Host Says It Will Not Drown Out Any Boos During Israel’s Performance
ORF executive producer Michael Kroen attends a press conference about the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Dec. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisa Leutner
The host broadcaster of the next Eurovision Song Contest, Austria’s ORF, will not ban the Palestinian flag from the audience or drown out booing during Israel’s performance as has happened at previous shows, organizers said on Tuesday.
The 70th edition of the contest in May will have just 35 entries, the smallest number of participants since 2003, after five national broadcasters including those of Spain, Ireland, and the Netherlands said they would boycott the show in protest at Israel’s participation.
What is usually a celebration of national diversity, pop music, and high camp has become embroiled in diplomatic strife, with those boycotting saying it would be unconscionable to take part given the number of civilians killed in Gaza during Israel’s military campaign following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
“We will allow all official flags that exist in the world, if they comply with the law and are in a certain form – size, security risks, etc.,” the show’s executive producer, Michael Kroen, told a news conference organized by ORF.
“We will not sugarcoat anything or avoid showing what is happening, because our task is to show things as they are,” Kroen said.
AUSTRIA SUPPORTED ISRAEL PARTICIPATING
The broadcaster will not drown out the sound of any booing from the crowd, as happened this year during Israel’s performance, ORF’s director of programming Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz said.
“We won’t play artificial applause over it at any point,” she said.
Israel’s 2025 entrant, Yuval Raphael, was at the Nova music festival that was a target of the Hamas-led attack. The CEO of Israeli broadcaster KAN had likened the efforts to exclude Israel in 2026 to a form of “cultural boycott.”
ORF and the Austrian government were among the biggest supporters of Israel participating over the objections of countries including Iceland and Slovenia, which will also boycott the next contest in protest. ORF Director General Roland Weissmann visited Israel in November to show his support.
This year’s show drew around 166 million viewers, according to the European Broadcasting Union, more than the roughly 128 million who Nielsen estimates watched the Super Bowl.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas-led terrorists killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seized 251 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.
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Antisemitism Allowed to Fester in Australia, Says Daughter of Wounded Holocaust Survivor
Victoria Teplitsky, daughter of a Holocaust survivor who was wounded at the Bondi shootings, stands at a floral memorial in honor of the victims of the mass shooting targeting a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jeremy Piper
Government authorities have not done enough to stamp out hatred of Jews in Australia, which has allowed it to fester in the aftermath of Oct. 7, said the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who was wounded at the Bondi shootings on Sunday.
Victoria Teplitsky, 53, a retired childcare center owner, said that the father and son who allegedly went on a 10-minute shooting spree that killed 15 people had been “taught to hate,” which was a bigger factor in the attack than access to guns.
“It’s not the fact that those two people had a gun. It’s the fact that hatred has been allowed to fester against the Jewish minority in Australia,” she told Reuters in an interview.
“We are angry at our government because it comes from the top, and they should have stood up for our community with strength. And they should have squashed the hatred rather than kind of letting it slide,” she said.
“We’ve been ignored. We feel like, are we not Australian enough? Do we not matter to our government?”
The attackers fired upon hundreds of people at a Jewish festival during a roughly 10-minute killing spree, forcing people to flee and take shelter before both were shot by police.
RISING ANTISEMITIC ATTACKS
Antisemitic incidents have been rising in Australia since the war in Gaza erupted after Palestinian terrorist group Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in an attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
A rise in such incidents in the past sixteen months prompted the head of the nation’s main intelligence agency to declare that antisemitism was his top priority in terms of threat.
“This was not a surprise to the Jewish community. We warned the government of this many, many times over,” Teplitsky said.
“We’ve had synagogues that have been graffitied, graffiti everywhere, and we’ve had synagogues that have been bombed,” she added, referring to a 2024 arson attack in Melbourne in which no one was killed.
Teplitsky’s father Semyon, 86, bled heavily after being shot in the leg, and now is facing several operations as doctors piece bone back together with cement, then remove the cement from the leg, which he still may lose, she said.
“He’s in good spirits, but he’s also very angry. Angry that this happened, that this was allowed to happen in Australia, the country that he took his children to, to be safe, to be away from antisemitism, to be away from Jew hatred.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “did nothing” to curb antisemitism.
Albanese repeated on Tuesday Australia‘s support for a two-state solution. Anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protests have been common in Australia since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza.
At a press briefing on Monday, Albanese read through a list of actions his government had taken, including criminalizing hate speech and incitement to violence and a ban on the Nazi salute. He also pledged to extend funding for physical security for Jewish community groups.