The recent return of four hostages to their homes was met with jubilation by the world media. A crimson woman, who had become a symbol after a video showed her pleading for her life and being led on a motorcycle, captured the attention of top newspapers such as the British Guardian, French Le Monde, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times. The American war correspondent Trey Yingst from Fox News shared the happy news on his Twitter account, while the German ambassador to Israel, Stefan Seibert, expressed joy and relief at their release.
CNN provided extensive coverage of the event, with Nick Robertson, the International Diplomacy Reporter, commenting on the survivors’ pale appearance after spending 246 days in captivity. World leaders like Carl Nehammer from Austria and Geert Wilders from the Netherlands congratulated the rescue of the hostages, emphasizing the need for the release of all captives. Radoslav Shikorski, the Polish foreign minister, expressed hope for peace between Israel and Palestine as one of the released hostages was an Israeli-Polish citizen.
The spontaneous celebrations in Ramat Gan were attended by applause, cheers and blue and white flags. Despite their traumatic experience, there was hope that with care and support they could overcome it. The world leaders and media outlets continued to express their joy and relief at this positive outcome.
