Eliya Cohen, who was wounded, then abducted and held in Gaza for 505 days, shared a video message before the procedure, asking for prayers.

Sharabi was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri and held for 491 days, much of that time in tunnels beneath Gaza, before being released on Feb. 8, 2025 as part of a negotiated deal.

Looking back on the year since her release, Damari said it has been devoted to recovery and rebuilding, describing a gradual return to laughter, love and daily life.

At the festival, he worked as a bartender and was abducted by Hamas on October 7 while helping evacuate the injured.

Angrest said he prayed regularly despite the conditions of captivity and eventually gathered the courage to request a prayer book from a senior Hamas figure.

During a ceremony at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, freed hostage Bar Kupershtein explained how his Jewish identity sustained him during captivity. 

'As Eitan spoke, the stories of terror he told flashed through my mind. So did the countless miracles he lived through.'

'Next month, God willing, I will return to Israel. I will once again put on the IDF uniform, and I will proudly serve alongside my brothers.'

Alon Ohel, a classically trained pianist who was tortured in Hamas captivity for two years, performed on the popular Israeli television show Eretz Nehederet.

Eli Sharabi became a prominent voice for the hostage-return campaign after his own release when he discovered that Hamas had murdered his wife and two daughters.

'They made us choose between each other, who to kill, who to just wound, they drew lots on us.'

Released Israeli captive Segev Kalfon describes how keeping Shabbat gave him and other hostages the strength to endure two years of torment at the hands of terrorists. 

'This hero is here with us tonight, with his wife — the true warrior,' Golan said. He dedicated the song 'Lohemet' to Rivka, bringing the couple to tears amid roaring applause.

Romi Braslavski, who was kept alone, starved, alongside corpses, recounts how he dreamed about lighting a menorah on his birthday, which falls on Chanukah.

Yosef Chaim Ohana, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, shakes the lulav upon his release on Hoshana Rabba.

Omer Shemtov recalls psychological torture to which he was subjected while held in captivity by Hamas.

Freed hostage Sasha Troufanov describes the hardship of his captivity in Gaza and how he discovered a connection with God.

Freed hostage Eliyah Cohen takes part in the Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem during Passover.

Former hostage Amit Soussana, who was the first to give an account of sexual assault at the hands of Hamas, received the International Woman of Courage Award in the US.

'Do you think they starved you or THEY just didn't have food?' interviewer Lesley Stahl asked former hostage Keith Siegel.

'It was the faith that kept us alive,' he said of his time in captivity.

Freed hostage Agam Berger plays a 130-year old violin owned by Tzachi Beck, who perished in the Holocaust. 

The American film revolves around Liat Atzili, a civics and history teacher kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and held captive in the Gaza Strip until she returned to Israel in the first ceasefire and hostage-release deal in November 2023.

'Children aged 8 and 4 were cursing 'the Jews,' Liri Albag said.

Former Hamas hostage Sapir Cohen says her faith helped her survive her ordeal.

Former hostage Aviva Siegel's husband, Keith, is still being held by Hamas a year after his abduction.

'I was coerced into reciting Islamic prayers and made to wear a hijab,' Agam Goldstein-Almog recounted, also noting the antisemitism she has experienced since her release.

'Every night I was falling asleep and thinking, this may be the last night of my life,' the 26-year-old told senior diplomats in Tokyo.

Almog Meir Jan describes how he and other captives supported each other while held in Gaza for 8 months.

Shlomi Ziv returned to his home in Moshav Elkosh on Tuesday. 

Elma Avraham was released on Nov. 26 as part of a weeklong ceasefire deal with Hamas and was airlifted to Soroka in serious condition.