Niva Wenkert, the mother of hostage Omer Wenkert, who is expected to return Saturday as part of the planned releases, can no longer wait. In a special video shared by the family, she goes through the suitcase she prepared for her son, who will return to Israel after 505 days in captivity.
Along with Omer’s close friend, Adi Taub, they go over the clothes packed for him and the items they bought, including a new phone to replace the one that was found shattered at the site of the Nova music festival, from which he was abducted on October 7. The family also packed perfume and an electric razor in the suitcase, which, according to his mother, has been waiting in the living room for 503 days. In the video, Adi films everything so she can show it to Omer when he returns.
"I've been waiting for this day since the moment we realized Omer had been kidnapped," Niva shared. "The suitcase has been sitting in our living room for 503 days." Throughout the months, she replaced the new clothes in the suitcase according to the changing seasons.
"503 times, we took out and put in items that Omer loves so much. Summer clothes were swapped for winter ones. On Saturday, when my Omer returns, our new mission as a family will be to help him get back to normal life, alongside the crucial mission of bringing all the remaining hostages home."
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Along with Omer Wenkert, five other hostages—Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Avera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed and Eliya Cohen—are also expected to be released tomorrow. Despite the fact that Shiri Bibas will not be returned along with the bodies of her children, Ariel and Kfir, Israel is not expected to jeopardize the release of the six living hostages. However, the defense establishment is reportedly considering recommending that the government issue an ultimatum to Hamas in the coming day.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation in response to what he called Hamas’ "cruel and malicious violation" of agreements. He stated that the terrorist group’s brutality "knows no bounds" and promised: "Hamas will pay the price."
Omer Wenkert arrived at the Nova festival just an hour before Hamas launched its attack. The last message he managed to send his family at 7:01 a.m. on October 7 was: "I’m terrified." Since then—504 days—he has been in Hamas captivity. Tomorrow, at long last, he is expected to be freed from his nightmare.
Omer, 23, from Gedera, is the eldest of three children, the son of Shay and Niva. At age 14, he was diagnosed with colitis. Describing her son’s character, his mother said, "He’s a wonderful brother. He has a very special bond with his siblings. He’s always smiling, loves people, very social—a magnet for others. His dream is to be a restaurant critic. He’s independent and hardworking—he started working to support himself at 17. He managed a chef’s restaurant and worked hard to get there."