More than two years after the October 7 massacre, Israel will hold its breath Monday morning as the moment approaches when the hostages will return home. Excitement is already palpable in homes across the country, but for some families the emotion is far greater. After 737 days they are preparing the house — and their hearts — for the moment the gate opens and the dream of their loved ones’ return from captivity becomes reality.
At the Kalfon family home, father Kobi filmed Galit — mother of Hamas hostage Segev — together with his sister, his sister-in-law and the dog Kai. They folded clothes, packed a bag and mostly smiled. “Our Segev, Dimona is waiting for you,” the father said, his voice trembling with excitement.
The family of Avinatan Or is also preparing for his return: they’ve arranged his hospital room at Beilinson with photos of him with his friends and his partner Noa Argamani, and organized clothes in the closet.
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Omri Miran's young daughters have packed a suitcase for him
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
There’s never a dull moment at the Ohana household either: Yosef-Chaim’s father, Avi, posted a video showing them washing his son’s car, the same car that has stood in the driveway for two whole years — waiting for him too. Chairs were set out in the yard for a celebratory screening of the moment they will see Yosef-Chaim come home, with signs reading “Welcome back home!”
Lishi Lavi-Miran, the wife of Omri Miran, has become a prominent figure in the struggle to bring the hostages home over the past two years — among them her partner. On Sunday night she shared a photo of their daughters, Roni, who was only two when her father was abducted, and Alma, who was only six months old: “Ready and waiting for Daddy Omri💛.”
And tomorrow, almost exactly two years after he was kidnapped from the Nova festival, Eitan Mor is returning home. His father, Tzvika Mor, is counting the seconds. “I’m very, very excited, very curious to see how he looks,” he told ynet. “We haven’t seen any pictures, any videos. We experienced a great miracle that Eitan survived to reach this day — that he was kidnapped and nothing happened to him on the way to Gaza, and that he managed to survive two whole years inside the inferno.”
At the family home the excitement is enormous. Preparations are meticulous — clothes, equipment, belongings. “We’re bringing him things from home so he will feel at home,” Tzvika said. “Honestly, I believed this day would come. I prepared myself for every scenario. I wanted them to release all the hostages, but not for us to be the last parents in Israel going through this hell. To take care of everyone and to ensure it won’t happen again.” He said, “The military pressure brought Hamas to the negotiating table. Eitan was kidnapped on Simchat Torah and is returning on Hoshana Rabbah. It’s closing the circle — exactly the same date we last saw him two years ago.”
Tzvika added: “I very much hope he is relatively okay. I trust him — he’s a very strong person, physically and mentally. In the end, we are all messengers of something bigger. There is a purpose to all this, and it will become clear. I only want to check that he has two eyes, two ears, two legs; that he is healthy and whole. And to hug him. There is a silence in a hug that is more than any words in the world.”
Amid all the excitement he asked also to look at the bigger picture. “My grandparents on both sides are Auschwitz survivors. Although of course we would have preferred there never to have been a Holocaust, it brought about the State of Israel. So I’m waiting to see what good will come of all this for our people. It’s clear to me we were spared annihilation that day — it was simply a Holocaust.”
Before finishing he paused to give thanks. “I thank the friends, the families and the Tikvah Forum team. I’m very glad they didn’t go for a partial deal that might have left our loved ones there for an unknown time. Hamas saw that even after two years we don’t give up. Thanks to our commanders and soldiers, to the wounded, to the widows — thanks to them we can hug Eitan.”
Ditza Or, the mother of hostage Avinatan, participated Sunday night in a Hoshana Rabbah learning event with Rabbanit Chava Shmilovitz. At the end of the session Ditza said: “I’m already waiting for 8:00 a.m., that the hours until then will pass according to the plan, that with God’s help everyone will return safely, all the people who were taken. My dream is that when they come out and come home salvations will come for everyone. For each person, whoever needs something. We are all broken in different places, everyone needs kindnesses and salvation; my prayer is that salvations will open from the source of salvations for everyone with a tremendous stream of salvation, light and blessing and then our mouths will be filled with laughter.”