Gaza hostages

Every day is Memorial Day: A mother's daily battle with grief and the choice to live - opinion

Memorial Day holds new meaning for Shirit Yerushalmi, who reflects on life after losing her daughter in Gaza.

|BySHIRIT YERUSHALMI
People next to photos of victims of terror attacks and fallen Israeli soldiers at Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv on the eve of Israel’s Memorial Day, April 20, 2026.
Pictures of Shiri Bibas and her children Kfir and Ariel, in Jerusalem, February 20, 2025

Op. Red Heart: Fallen soldier’s mother reveals son was killed in op. tied to Bibas rescue attempt

The disclosure came more than two years after the soldiers’ deaths and after Israel later learned that Shiri Bibas and her children had already been killed in captivity. 

|BySHIR PERETS
Former hostage Emily Damari lights the torch during the main rehearsal of the 77th anniversary Independence Day ceremony, held at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, on April 28, 2025.

Thousands urge Israeli media to skip state Independence Day ceremony, air civilian alternative

The campaign was launched by Yotam Kipnis, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri who lost both his parents and several relatives in the October 7 massacre.

|ByTOBIAS SIEGAL
RACHEL AND JON Goldberg-Polin attend the funeral of their son, Hersh, in Jerusalem.

'I feel like we failed' to bring Gaza hostages home, Rachel Goldberg-Polin tells CBS's 60 Minutes

"What we were fighting for did happen. We got all these people home, not the way we wanted. We wanted them home, alive, but they had come home," she told Anderson Cooper.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

'They broke my leg for what happened in Sde Teiman': Bar Kupershtein recounts Hamas brutality

"They took Yosef Chaim Ohana and me, and broke my leg. They said that it was because of Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, because of Sde Teiman," Kupershtein said in an interview for KAN Reshet Bet.

APRIL 5, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Bar Kupershtein acknowledges those welcoming him as he comes home last month, in Holon, after his release from Hamas captivity in Gaza. The return of the hostages restored our breath, says the writer.

On Passover, former Gaza hostages say freedom 'takes on a different meaning' - interview

Former hostages David Cunio and Keith Siegel return home, discovering a deeper, personal meaning of freedom this Passover.

APRIL 1, 2026ByHANNAH BROWN
Released hostage David Cunio is greeted as he returns to his home in Yavne, last October.

'Helplessness, uncontrollable fear': Romi Gonen shares how Iran war brings back Gaza trauma

“Notice the people outside who need help,” she wrote. “The siren caught me twice on the road, and it immediately threw me back into helplessness and uncontrollable fear.”

MARCH 29, 2026ByURI SELA
Former hostage Romi Gonen speaks to Channel 12's "Uvda" about her experiences in Hamas's terror captivity, December 25, 2025.

Freed Gaza hostages relive trauma as Iran war sirens trigger captivity memories

“We will live with captivity for the rest of our lives," former hostage Luis Har said.

MARCH 19, 2026ByURI SELA
Luis Har.

For former Gaza hostage Elkana Bohbot, this war with Iran is different - interview

Being at home with family when Operation Rising Lion began felt like a privilege in comparison to the tunnels of Gaza, former Hamas hostage Elkana Bohbot told Maariv.

MARCH 13, 2026ByDUDI PATIMER
Portrait of Elkana Bohbot who was held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and released a few months ago. February 12, 2026.

WATCH: 'I screamed in pain': Former hostage Matan Angrest says Hamas terrorists electrocuted him

Former Gaza hostage Matan Angrest told Channel 12's 'Uvda' about his captivity, including Hamas torture, the loss of his tank crew, bonding with fellow hostage Gali Berman, and his eventual release.

FEBRUARY 27, 2026ByJAMES GENN
Former hostage Matan Angrest speaks to Channel 12's 'Uvda' about his experience in Hamas terror captivity, including torture, broadcast on February 26, 2026.

Teaching October 8 Jews requires moral courage, not comfort - opinion

Is there still time for Jewish joy in a world of hostages and war, amid dilemmas around the war’s justness, recognition of Palestinian suffering, and the desire to see Hamas dismantled? At what cost?

FEBRUARY 25, 2026BySAMANTHA VINOKOR-MEINRATH
An empty classroom (illustrative).

Former hostage performs song he sang in Hamas tunnels on first birthday since captivity

Held two weeks ago, the concert celebrated Ohel’s first birthday outside captivity, coming four months after his release. Tickets sold out within hours.

FEBRUARY 25, 2026ByHANNAH BROWN
FORMER HOSTAGE Alon Ohel performs with Israeli artists during a concert in Tel Aviv, on February 9, 2026.

Trump says Iran will 'never' have nuclear weapons during State of the Union address

As US-Iran tensions rise, US President Donald Trump stated that he will “never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon.”

FEBRUARY 25, 2026ByGOLDIE KATZ, JAMES GENN
US President Donald J. Trump delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, February 24, 2026.

Freed Israeli hostages recite Shema prayer on New York City stage in front of thousands

This event was part of the Chabad-Lubavitch CTeen International Summit, an annual conference for Jewish teens from around the world. 

FEBRUARY 24, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Freed Israeli hostages Matan Zangauker, Ilana Gritzewsky, and Segev Kalfon, recite the Shema prayer on stage in Times Square on February 21, 2026.